


everybody's waiting for the next surprise

by eab5c5



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: 00fftober, Multi, also more relationships and characters to be tagged as the month progresses, also warning you now, each chapter is like a drabble / oneshot, i'll add them as the days go by, i'm a jeno ult so he'll probably be in a lot of these askjdfsk, not rated bc each chapter will have a different rating, please help me i've been listening to the same halloween music mix for over 4 hours, skdjfhksjh, we going spoopy boys !!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2020-11-08 06:28:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 51,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20830904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eab5c5/pseuds/eab5c5
Summary: A collection of different shorts and one-shots for #00FFtober! Unfortunately not all of them will be spooky, but a good trick-or-treat bagful of them are.





	1. spring

**Author's Note:**

> This work does not have a beta reader, and while I'll do my best to check for any mistakes I may not catch all of them. Apologies in advance! At the end of the month I plan to go through every chapter once more to clean it up. Other than that, please enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: NoRen (Renjun x Jeno)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Jeno is dragged by his best friend Jaemin to a Halloween costume party, where he meets the most interesting (not to mention good-looking) boy he's ever seen in his life.
> 
> \+ Was this purely an excuse for me to dress Jeno up in cute clothes with flowers and sparkles? Yes, yes it was. (Also there's a significant amount of Jaemin in this...you have been warned.)

"I look like a Barbie doll that's seen better days and was dumped into a vat of glitter."

"You do not! Take that back!"

"Ow! Don't hit me!"

Jeno rubs his arm and glares at his best friend Jaemin, cursing the fact that his pink sweater did nothing to protect him from the well-aimed punch. The other boy _ harumphs _ and puts his makeup brush down to pick up another. 

"You look good, Jeno. Stop being so-"

"Insecure?"

"Well, yeah, but it would have sounded mean if I said it out loud," he shrugs and takes Jeno by the chin, placing the finishing touches on his look. Jeno normally wouldn't mind this at all. In fact, Halloween is one of his favorite holidays. Every year he gets to dress up as one of his favorite characters or a scary monster _ and _ get candy from strangers? It's practically perfect. Except for when your best friend decides to drag you into attending a college party the night before Halloween with mandatory costumes (and no, you don't get to choose). 

The theme this year was anonymous couple costumes. Everyone would draw a name from a hat and go as that character to the party, where they would eventually, somehow, find their partner. Jeno isn't sure how it's going to happen, assuming everyone will be drinking and falling over themselves, but he couldn't say no when Jaemin had begged him to come with.

He had even reassured himself that everything would be fine. Until he drew his costume two weeks before the party and immediately wanted a redraw (when he asked Yukhei, one of the hosts, he told him "Sorry little dude, no take backsies." - Jeno resents that, he isn't little!). Of course Jaemin got the cool(er) costume. He was going as Superman, but a more tone-downed Clark Kent version with 50s office attire and a homemade superman logo t-shirt underneath. The boy even dyed his hair black from its striking shade of pastel pink he'd been rocking for the better part of that semester. 

And Jeno was stuck with flowers and glitter and-

"Hold still!"

"I am!"

"No, you're not. God, it's like you want me to stab you in the eye."

"Right now I'm thinking that'd probably be a better alternative than going out looking like this."

"Jeno." Jaemin threatens him by making a stabbing motion with his brush, and that gets the older boy to shut up. He closes his eyes when Jaemin asks him to, allowing the other to place the last touches on his eyelids and then some. "There, finished. What do you think?"

Jaemin swivels his chair so Jeno is facing the vanity mirror right as he opens his eyes. What he sees first is his blonde hair (dyed very recently due to a dare from Donghyuck). He's wearing a crown of little flowers, and more of them are clipped and fastened around his head in varying shades of purple, blue, orange, pink and green. His eyelids are dusted with pink too, fanning out into white and silver swirls and flower shapes disappearing into the shaved sides of his temples. To top it all off the highs of his cheekbones have been dusted with white shimmer, and his lips plump with a peachy-colored lip gloss. All in all he really doesn't look half bad, it's just...not what you'd usually see the boy in, hence his discomfort.

What he's used to wearing is graphic tees and oversized hoodies. Ripped jeans, tennis shoes, baseball caps, basketball shorts. Jeno is a casual and sporty dresser through and through, so the soft getup of a baby pink fluffy sweater and white skinny jeans is also a change from the norm. He supposes that fits the theme of the holiday - to dress up as something you're not.

He finally turns to face Jaemin who's standing at his side, giddy with anticipation. Jeno rolls his eyes and smiles, punching him lightly in the arm.

"It looks good," _ Ow! _ "Thanks."

"See! I told you you'd look great."

"Well, I don't know about that-"

"Whoever is paired with you is gonna be so amazed. With my skills and your face they're bound to fall in love by the end of the night."

"Woah, woah! Who said anything about falling in love? It's just a costume party, Jaemin."

The younger pouts and crosses his arms, "Fine, if that's what you want to think."

"I do." Jeno laughs, and then looks at the clock. "Come on, we're going to be late."

"Oh, shit!"

After watching Jaemin proceed to run about their dorm room grabbing his things Jeno and him were on their way to the party. It wasn’t too far from their dorm block, fortunately, so they only had to walk about a block and a half. There was no need to feel unsafe with how many other people were out on the streets, and Jeno could only imagine how busy it would be tomorrow.

"There it is!" Jaemin yells in his ear and grabs his arm, shaking Jeno while he tries to push him off with a laugh.

"I can see it, Jaemin. I have eyes."

"Shut up."

They fall in line behind several other students at the door, and Jeno checks his pocket to make sure he has his slip. Everyone was told to keep the paper with their costume name on it, sort of like a ticket to get inside. 

"So..." he eventually says, balancing on his heels as the line gets shorter. "Who do you think you're paired up with?" 

Jaemin shrugs, "I dunno. Hopefully someone hot."

"Jaemin!"

"What? I'm being realistic." Jeno levels him with a deadpan expression. "Okay, okay. At least...someone with a good personality. It'd suck if the whole night was awkward."

"Yeah, I guess that for me too."

Jaemin wiggles his eyebrows at Jeno, to which he pointedly ignores the boy as they walk up the steps. Surprisingly, Yukhei and another party host are the ones watching the entrance. Yukhei is dressed as a knight, complete with armor and a sword and..._ is that a kid's pony toy? _ Jeno doesn't even know what the other person is dressed as, but they’re covered head to toe in fake blood.

"Costume?"

Jeno hands the slip of paper to Yukhei, "Persephone."

"Oho! Lee Jeno the Goddess, we bow before thee." His face burns and he struggles to get out a _ shut up _ before walking through the door, waiting inside for Jaemin to join him.

"So, where are the drinks?" Jaemin rubs his hands together once he’s standing next to him again and Jeno just shrugs. "Let's try the kitchen." He doesn't question his friend and just follows him through the entry hall towards the living room. The music is loud, but not too loud, and although there are a lot of people - most of which he's never seen before - it's not overly crowded. Jeno appreciates that. He doesn't think he'd want to stay if he had to squeeze between tons of strangers to get anywhere.

"Alcohol! Oh, sweet alcohol," Jaemin croons when they enter the kitchen. 

"Are you that excited to get drunk?"

"Not drunk. Just buzzed. You know, for funsies."

"Funsies." Jeno raises a brow as Jaemin walks around the island full of different shaped bottles and cups.

"What, are you not gonna have any?"

"I might, but not a lot. Someone's gonna have to get both of us home, and I don't think it's going to be you."

"Ah, but you underestimate me, young one," _ I'm older than you _, Jeno interjects quietly. "I could take a poly-sci exam while wasted and still get at least a C+ on it."

"Sure, sure."

"Whatever. Just make sure I don't throw up on anyone cute like last time."

Jeno snorts and nods. He certainly remembers last time, back when they were both baby-faced freshman and Jaemin was taking him to every party that happened up to Homecoming. Jeno didn't drink at any of those, far too scared to touch the stuff because _ he's seen what happens in the movies_. At one of those parties Jaemin had drunk so much - _ they tasted like orange juice! _ \- that he ended up puking on Mark Lee, and it wasn't just the older boy's shoes.

It was _ everywhere _.

Jaemin had been mortified the day after to find videos of it on the school's social media page, lamenting his luck at "throwing up on the cutest boy in the whole party."

Ever since then he's been harboring a crush the size of Pangea on the geography major a year above them with no hopes of reciprocation (or so he tells Jeno). In fact, Mark is probably at this party too, since he's friends with Yukhei. Jeno wonders if Jaemin doesn't know that and thinks it's safe to drink, or if he does know and wants to rely on liquid confidence to get him through the night. 

"Let's head to the living room?" Jaemin asks, suddenly standing next to Jeno who had been deep in thought. He just nods and trails after Jaemin out of the kitchen.

After that not a lot of exciting stuff happens. The music is decent and Jeno eventually has a colorful drink in his hand, a strawberry something that's sweet enough to disguise whatever the alcohol content is. People are standing around and talking to each other, or doing funny dances near the DJ with a crowd circling around them. He makes sure Jaemin is drinking enough water in between his various concoctions in red solo cups, reprimanding him when he spills a little down the front of his checkered shirt. 

By the time nine o'clock has swung around he doesn't even realize it until the music cuts short and a voice booms over the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, ghouls and gals!" Yukhei yells excitedly into the mic, everyone - including him - wincing as it screeches for a moment. "Sorry, sorry. Anyways! I would like to announce that we will now begin matching pairs. I'm sure you're all excited to find out who your partner is." A chorus of _ whoos _ and _ yeahs _ come from the crowd, more people entering the living room and packing themselves like sardines in a tin can. "Remember, after you find out who you're paired with we want you to take a picture together at our photo booth, manned by my good friend Johnny! I'm sure you all remember him from last year's Christmas party."

A few chuckles are heard throughout the crowd, and Jeno thinks he can hear someone yell 'eggnog Santa Claus!' near the front. 

Yukhei keeps talking then, going over the rules and such, but Jeno isn't paying attention anymore as he tries to take Jaemin's cup from him when he almost sloshes the contents onto the back of the person in front of them. By the time he's pried it from Jaemin's fingers and replaced his grip with a bottle of water names are already being called. 

"...Superman, Dean Winchester, Elmo, Persephone, Salt and Devil - you're all in group A! Please make your way to the other side of the house and wait your turn to be called to the bathroom," _ Bathroom? _ Jeno mouths to himself while guiding Jaemin, more sobered up, to follow the rest of the group. At least they're together. "We want to make this quick so you all can get back to partying, so scram, or our very own Dracula will suck your blood!" Yukhei ends his little speech with a horrible Transylvanian accent, and Jeno glimpses the stage to see Mark baring his fake fangs. Huh, so Mark was dressed as Dracula tonight.

"Hey, Jen...where're we going?"

"To get paired, Jaemin. Jeez, how much did you drink? Weren't you the one that was super excited for this?"

"'M not drunk, Jen, just a bit tipsy. I'll be fine."

Jeno rolls his eyes, "If you say so."

To be honest Jeno is a little nervous. When he received his costume he made the correct assumption that whoever he would be paired with would be dressed as Hades, but it was too hard to try and spot them in a crowd. Over half the party-goers were dressed in outfits of various blacks and dark grays. Hades could be anyone. He just hoped that whoever it was would be satisfied by his lackluster costume (no matter what, Jeno refused to wear any sort of dress - it was too far outside of his comfort zone).

While they wait for their names to be called Jeno sticks close to Jaemin, hoping that the younger will be at least coherent enough to stay on his own for a few minutes when they inevitably have to be separated.

"Jeno? Jaemin?" he hears a familiar voice to his left and looks over to see upperclassman Jung Jaehyun. He's dressed as a vampire - at least Jeno thinks so with the fangs poking out behind his lips - but it must be a specific one with the way he’s dressed. 

"Hey, Jaehyun. What are you supposed to be?"

"Edward, from Twilight," the older grimaces while Jeno tries to hold back a little laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Kinda got stuck with one of the lame ones. You look cute though. You a fairy or something?"

Jeno flushes then, patting Jaemin's back and shaking his head. "Persephone, from Greek myth. You know, the Goddess of Spring? Wasn't too psyched when I pulled that."

"Why not?"

"Just not something I would have normally picked," he shrugs, and then points to Jaemin who definitely looks more awake now. Maybe it's the crush he used to have on Jaehyun when they were still seniors in high school talking. "Jaemin's Superman. I'm actually kinda worried about letting him go right now though. He drank more than he should have."

Jaehyun smiles at that, "You shouldn't worry. I can watch him, and I'm pretty sure I already know who he's paired with. You know him."

"I do?"

"Yeah. Anyways, he'll be in good hands tonight, so don't think about it too much."

"Persephone!" Someone calls near the front of the room, and Jeno freezes.

"Looks like it's your turn. I'll keep an eye on Jaemin for you, yeah?"

Jeno nods. "Thanks, Jaehyun. I'll come back for him as soon as I can." With that Jeno takes his leave, trudging towards the door that leads into the hall. He glancess at the host near the door who points him towards the direction of the master bathroom.

The door is closed when he gets to it and Jeno has the decency to knock. When the door opens two people he hasn't seen before come out, and Jeno can tell right away that they're dressed as salt and pepper shakers. He smiles awkwardly and walks inside while they head to the photo booth.

Once he closes the door behind him he guesses he just has to wait, standing for a moment or two before deciding to sit down on the closed toilet seat. Next to the toilet is a little table situated against the wall, with a bowl of tiny soaps, a dish of candies and a picture frame with a very poorly drawn male body part. Jeno snorts at the picture, but is more interested in the little soaps, shaped like starfish and butterflies and shells. He wonders where they get them, because his mom would actually love stuff like this. Maybe he could ask Yukhei.

Distracted enough by the objects he doesn't notice the door opening and closing until a cough breaks the silence. Only then does Jeno turn around, eyes widening a fraction because _ oh no, he's hot _.

He thanks whatever higher power he can - and Yukhei - because standing before him is a literal god. Hades is dressed in all black, like he suspected, but similar to Jeno’s costume it had a modern twist. His jeans were plastered to his legs and had more rips in them than fabric, and he wore a plain dark t-shirt beneath a black sweater. His hair was practically pitch, and on the top of his head was a dark crown with black flower buds and spiderwebs. When Jeno's gaze is drawn to the stranger's face he finds that their eyes are lined with black and his features are a little sunken in with makeup, but not enough to make him unattractive. 

Jeno feels a little sorry for this person that they got stuck with him. Surely their costume would have been complimented better by a girl or at least someone with more feminine features. However, now is not the time for self-deprecation!

Pulling himself up to stand Jeno smiles and holds his hand out to the other, patting himself on the back for having somewhat decent social skills. 

"Nice to meet you. I'm Jeno, er, Persephone."

Never mind.

Even so, the other boy smiles and _ oh my God my heart can't take this _ Jeno screams internally. He takes his outstretched hand and shakes it up and down a few times. 

"Hades, but most people know me as Renjun."

_Renjun _, he tests the name inside his brain and tries to burn it into the tissue. 

"Well, Renjun, I think you fit the part very well. I mean," Jeno starts to stumble over his words like he always does around new people, realizing his statement could be taken the wrong way. "Not that you look, like, _ dead _ or anything. Definitely not that. I just meant that you really look all cool, dark and mysterious...er, yeah..."

Curse Jeno and his tendency to get tongue tied around beautiful boys. If Jaemin were here he'd be laughing his ass off.

Renjun laughs at that, but it doesn't sound like he's making fun of Jeno. Jeno thinks he could listen to the other's laugh for hours on end and never get tired of it. 

"I could say the same about you," he responds, and Jeno immediately shakes his head. "You don't think so?"

"I mean, I'm not really what you'd call a Goddess, right?"

It's Renjun's turn to shake his head as he takes a step closer to the boy in pink. He looks over him, like he's studying Jeno, before his gaze returns to the boy's eyes. Then he smiles with half-parted lips, and it's more like a smirk than anything else that makes Jeno swallow thickly.

"I'd disagree. You're certainly beautiful enough to be a God or Goddess. Spring is a good look on you."

Jeno blushes bright red at that, no doubt visible from the tips of his ears to his cheeks and his neck. He looks away and holds one arm, playing with the end of his sweater and shrugging. 

"Thanks."

It looks like Renjun wants to say more, but when he opens his mouth there's a knock on the door. He frowns then, annoyed at the interruption and opening it to reveal another student. 

"Times up, guys."

"Oh, right, sorry." Jeno is the one to apologize, pushing past both of them and instinctively tugging on Renjun's sleeve for them to get out and let the next pair meet.

He's still red in the face when they move into the hallway and walk back to the living room, where Johnny is waiting for them at the photo booth. He must have been told what all the pairings would be, because he greets them with a cheesy bow and says, "Oh, Gods, we humbly thank you for blessing us with your presence and joining us in the world above. Please, let me take a picture to capture this moment."

Jeno isn't very good at playing along, but Renjun says something along the lines of _ you may stand _ (he seems to be very into the whole roleplay thing, not that Jeno is complaining) and pulls Jeno with him to stand in front of the backdrop. It's just a simple picture of a black castle, Jack-o-lanterns and bats against a purple sky with little stars. Jeno is pretty sure he saw the same exact background at Party City when he and Jaemin had gone shopping for their actual costumes at the beginning of the month.

When Renjun puts an arm around his waist Jeno tries to mask his surprise with a smile. He's not used to such attention, but maybe it's because he stays inside a lot. Not enough interaction with cute boys to prepare him for this.

Just because it feels right, he leans his head onto Renjun's shoulder for the picture, because _ Persephone would do that, right? Or maybe not, I mean, she was kidnapped by Hades, but I guess it depends on what version of the story you're looking at and oh- _ Picture time is over as another couple stands just outside the booth. Jeno lets Renjun guide him this time towards a couch pushed against the wall of the living room, where he plops down next to the other boy. They sit next to each other in the quiet as the DJ tries to get the party back in full swing.

"So..." he hears Renjun speak up, turning to look at him with a curious gaze. "Are you enjoying the party?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. I don't normally go to a lot of parties. My best friend, Jaemin, he actually forced me to come, but," Looking at Renjun a shy smile curls onto his lips. "I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would." When Renjun returns his smile Jeno feels another wave of bashfulness coming on, looking away and coughing into his fist. 

"I am too." Renjun says. "After all, I got to see my wife."

Jeno's mouth hangs open before he gently thwacks the other boy on the arm, unable to help but laugh even though he's embarrassed. 

"Shut up. I don't remember agreeing to this marriage."

"Oh, but you did, see? I got us rings and everything."

It's then that Renjun pulls a pair of rings from his pocket. They're those cheap plastic ones you get at the dollar store with big fake spiders on them. One of them is black and the other is dark purple. Renjun takes Jeno by the hand and slides the dark purple one onto his index finger before donning the black one himself. 

A few moments pass and then, "I want a divorce."

Renjun laughs again, and Jeno finds himself wanting to make him laugh even more for the rest of the night. However, that thought is quickly pushed away when he hears Jaemin's voice somewhere close to the pair.

"Jenoooooooooo!"

He groans and turns around to find Jaemin clinging onto and almost falling off of Donghyuck, who's apparently dressed as Batman. Ah, that's probably why Jaehyun said not to worry. He knew Jeno and Donghyuck were friends. Not as close as he was with Jaemin, who he’s known since childhood, but enough that the three of them were considered an inseparable trio around campus.

"I see you found your partner." Jeno says as the other boys stand in front of them. 

Jaemin grins as his eyes go back and forth between Jeno and Renjun, and Jeno knows the look on his face. It's the one he gets when he has something to say that Jeno definitely doesn't want to hear.

"You guys look cute."

"Oh my God."

"No, really! Who's your friend, Jeno?"

Renjun introduces himself at that point, greeting Jaemin as the younger continues to smile sneakily. It’s in that moment that Jeno hopes they never meet again, because he feels like Renjun is the type to add to Jaemin’s schemes with enough incentive. Not that he knows Renjun well, but it’s a feeling.

"What do you think of Jeno's costume, Renjun?"

"I think it's wonderful. A real life Persephone if you ask me."

"See! I knew he'd be smitten, Jeno. Admit it, you're a very pretty Goddess."

Jeno just scrunches his nose and wishes the makeup would hide his red cheeks. Meanwhile, Donghyuck just stands there making sure Jaemin doesn't trip over his feet. He's looking at Jaemin with, oh, is that fondness in his eyes? Jeno doesn’t have enough time to ponder the expression on the boy’s face, but he files it away for later as Jaemin speaks again.

"Oh, by the way, you guys forgot to get your pictures at the photo booth. Come on, Donghyuck, give them to them! They're the cutest, oh my God."

When Donghyuck hands over the pictures, one for Renjun and Jeno each, Jeno feels his temperature rise and holds the picture close to his face like he can hide it from the rest of the world. He looks over to Renjun who seems to be smiling in amusement at his own picture before grinning at Jeno, who busies himself by pulling his wallet out and placing the picture inside. _ Just for safekeeping _, he tells himself. 

"Well," Donghyuck coughs and speaks up then. "As fun as this is I think this is Jaemin needs to lay down for a bit. He somehow got another drink between the bathroom and the photo booth."

Jeno nods, although internally he's shaking his head at Jaemin's antics. 

"I can take him home if you want, Donghyuck. It's not far from here." He doesn't really want to leave Renjun just yet, but Jeno would do it if he had too. Jaemin is his best friend. However, Donghyuck shakes his head and hoists Jaemin up to stand straighter.

"Nah, I'll just take him to the spare bedroom upstairs for a bit. You two can stay and canoodle until you decide to leave."

"W-we're not canoodling!" Jeno sputters, and Donghyuck grins like the little demon he is beneath his Batman mask. 

"Whatever you say, Jeno. Have fun guys!"

Jeno is glad when the two walk away towards the direction of the stairs, but also wishing they'd stay because now he's back to being alone with Renjun. Renjun, who he's never met until tonight and is so good-looking that Jeno can't talk properly. Renjun, who seems to enjoy teasing him but isn't mean about it and genuinely thinks Jeno looks good in his costume. Renjun, who's smiling at him now and leaning back into the couch, the perfect picture of Olympian confidence.

"So, Jeno, what's your opinion on the supernatural?"

Jeno doesn't know where this conversation is going or where the rest of the night will eventually end up, but the sparkle in Renjun's eyes and the way he makes him feel gives Jeno just enough confidence to stay.

"What exactly do you mean?" he asks, and leans on his side into the cushions to face Renjun, forgetting the rest of the party-goers as the dark-haired boy leans in. For the rest of the evening he watchs as Renjun talks about hidden creatures and magic, sometimes delving into aliens and conspiracies. Jeno just listens and adds to the conversation once or twice, finding the boy's enthusiasm to be infectious. It’s kind of the best way to spend his night, focusing on one person and just barely remembering he’s in a party full of strangers. Renjun doesn’t feel like a stranger anymore, and he doesn't want to part from the other when he realizes the time and has to get him and Jaemin home. 

“I have to go now,” he says, a hint of a pout in his voice as he says so. Jeno swears he can here Renjun mutter _ cute _ under his breath, but before he can ask him the other stands and holds his hand out to pull Jeno up from the couch. By now most of the other people have left, so it’s just them, Yukhei and a couple others milling about the living room.

Like he knew it was time to go Jaemin comes down the stairs then, followed by Donghyuck who’s removed his mask now and draped his cape over the younger boy’s shoulders. Jeno smiles and let’s Renjun tag along as they head towards the door.

Before he leaves that night Renjun gives him a hug and dips his hand into Jeno's back pocket, causing the pastel boy to squeak and blush ruby red as the other laughs. 

“Bye, Renjun,” he manages to say, waving as Jaemin pushes almost all his weight onto his left shoulder. 

“Bye, Jeno.”

When he turns away to start walking down the steps all Jeno can think of is dark eyes and warm whispers. Later, when he gets home and Jaemin is sleeping peacefully in his bed on the other side of the room, Jeno finds Renjun's number on a piece of paper hidden in his pocket and grins to himself, immediately adding the boy to his contacts. 

[ to: rendes 12:57 ]  
_happy halloween, o husband of mine  
__we should do this again sometime_

[ to: jensephone 1:02 ]  
_happy halloween my wife !!_

[ to: rendes 1:02 ]  
_dkjsfhkds_

[ to: jensephone 1:03 ]  
_we should ;)  
__tomorrow, if you don't have plans? _

[ to: rendes 1:22 ]  
_..._  
_definitely !  
__<3_


	2. fairy tale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: NoMin (Jaemin x Jeno)  
Rating: G // Warning: Blood Mention  
Summary: Jeno is a wolf that just wants to live peacefully in the woods, but he's haunted by his memories of the Red Guard. When he's ambushed by a member of the guard he doesn't expect the encounter to have him blossom new feelings - especially when the cold winter draws so near.
> 
> \+ From the summary you can probably already tell what fairy tale this is based off of! Also, by wolf, I mean Jeno can shift between a human form and a wolf form whenever he wants (he's not a werewolf). Just to clarify, he is in human form throughout the entire story!

All his life Jeno has been taught to fear the Red Guard. His great grandfather had been killed by them in his sleep one night, his grandfather while dipping his toes into the Zinpanem River and his father three falls ago while protecting their den. Jeno could smell the iron stench of his father's blood as the guard ripped out his heart. 

_ Do not leave the den, Jeno. You hear me? Do not set _ ** _foot_ ** _ outside until you're completely sure they're gone. _

He had only been 16 winters old at the time, and followed his father's instructions as best as he could. For three whole nights he laid in the den without moving a muscle, curled around the tooth necklace his father had gifted him after he'd lost his left canine saving Jeno from a bear when he was just a pup. The bear hadn’t been so lucky, and Jeno wonders why the guard scares him so much more than such a formidable creature.

It's all he has left of his father now, and he both loathes and loves it. Loves it because it makes him feel close to the man. Hates it because it reminds him of the Red Guard that day.

_ A wolf with a missing tooth? Ha, too easy, _ one of the men had said. His cloak was as red as the blood that sprayed from his neck when Jeno's father bit into him, silencing the guard before two more pounced on the wolf and eventually killed him. He likes to think that it was a heroic fight, and in a sense it was. A wolf protecting his child from the horrible Red Guard. Only it played out more like a pack game, where he was easily outnumbered and didn’t stand a chance once they had their knives dug under his jaw.

Now that Jeno is 19 winters into his life he's become skilled in avoiding the Red Guard like a plague. You'd think his story would end up being one of those in the books where the wolf takes revenge for the death of his father and destroys the guard once and for all to bring peace to the forest. If you think this is brave, then Jeno is surely a coward. 

The moment he sees a hint of red he flees in the other direction with his tail between his legs. 

He doesn't want to end up like his father and grandfathers. Doesn't want to be another wolf laying bloody in the dirt and breathing his last breath like a sick hound. What Jeno wants most of all is to feel safe. He hasn't felt safe since the day his father died, living in a constant state of anxious fear that one day it won't be enough. All of his hiding and running away will be for naught, and the Red Guard will snuff out every last wolf in the wood, starting with him.

Not that Jeno is a protector of the wood. Sure, he's helped hide a cub or two when the Red Guard got too close to their territory, and helped a wolf mother find her way home when she was lost, but other than that he's more of a lone wolf than anything else. 

His mother is dead. His father is dead. He has no siblings to speak of, and any friends he had in his childhood have either moved to another forest or "disappeared" as his father used to say (dead - they were dead, killed, just like him, but he didn't want Jeno knowing that as a child - Jeno just figured it out anyway, when he was older).

Trudging through the forest now, the tooth necklace beneath his shirt taps against Jeno's chest with every step. Leaves crunch beneath his feet, brown and dead as the winter approaches faster and faster. It seems like every year the winter comes earlier and harsher, and while it's easy for a wolf to survive, hoping the Red Guard will freeze and die out, they are resourceful. He can smell their fires coming from the distance villages. He hears them singing in the comfort of their wooden homes, so different from the stick-covered dens Jeno digs for himself. They even hunt in the winter now, when the wolves feel a smidgen safer than usual. 

It is cruel and effective.

Like now, even Jeno, who fears the Red Guard the most, let's himself focus more on the beauty of the wood than listening for any approaching guards. The trickle of the nearby river mixes with the calls of foxes and forest cats, and it’s a distracting music to Jeno’s ears. The woods really are very pretty when you take the time to stop and look.

At least, that's the excuse Jeno will use if anyone asks him why he allowed a Red Guard to sneak up behind him and tackle him to the ground. If Jeno escapes and lives to tell the tale. 

Out of the corner of his eye he sees red while falling, the tell-tale cloak of a guard. It shoots daggers of fear straight into his heart and, as much as it pains him to say it, the noise that leaves his mouth is pitiful. Not a warning growl, or a vicious snarl to keep his attacker at bay.

A whimper as he's shoved painfully into the dirt.

Jeno tries to put on a courageous front, trashing underneath the weight of the guard and managing to somehow throw him off. _ A new one then _, someone who obviously doesn't have much experience. Scrambling away Jeno whips his head around to see if he can spot anymore guards hidden behind the rocks and trees.

There's no one. 

Just him and his harsh breathing and the guard still behind him that yells and charges towards the wolf with a blade raised above their head. Jeno sees this at the last moment, twisting just out of reach.

However, he stumbles, tripping backwards and landing on the ground again just as the guard turns to face him. Let it be known that while Jeno has an (un)healthy fear of the Red Guard, he can't deny the fact that this guard is beautiful. Soft brown hair, pretty eyes and bow-shaped red lips. He's beautiful, even when his chest is heaving and he's standing before Jeno with a knife that's surely meant to carve his heart out of his ribs.

"Jaemin!"

A voice in the distance yells, and the guard quickly turns towards the source, then looks back at Jeno. His fingers lift and curl around the blade's handle with hesitance. Almost like he's deciding whether to follow through or not. 

"Jaemin!" The voice calls again, louder this time, and right then it seems the guard loses his nerve. He glares down at the wolf, but Jeno can see the conflict in his eyes - those beautiful, dark eyes - as he sheaths the knife and pulls his blood red hood over his head, darting off back into the trees and leaving Jeno on the forest floor alone. 

The wolf lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, letting his head drop into the leaves as he feels all the energy leave his body.

If his father were alive he'd be shaking the boy, asking him if he was still a dumb pup for freezing up like that. Jeno doesn't know whether to feel lucky or insane. Lucky that the guard who caught him didn't have the nerve to kill him, or insane for still finding him to be the most beautiful creature he's ever seen in his entire life.

He must be insane, then, for wanting to see the guard again, even if it may cost him his heart.


	3. blessing & curse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: RenHyuck (Renjun x Donghyuck)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Renjun thinks he's doing the right thing, but if it hurts this much then maybe he's not...
> 
> \+ Angst incoming. Don't be fooled by how fluffy this is at first. lol This is a magical realism type world where everyone is aware of the existence of the Gods and even talk to them in person. People are blessed by a single God and granted one ability which they can use to help or hurt people. Just to help you understand the world while reading.

Ever since he'd been gifted with the ability to help others forget their unrequited love Renjun had been told it was a blessing from the Gods. Renjun believed this to be true. After all, his own unrequited love had been forgotten, and replaced with this helpful power. They say he'd almost died because of that love, so surely it must be a good thing that he can do the same for others?

Like Jeno who had been in love with Jaemin who was in a loving and committed relationship with Mark. Jeno seemed happier after he forgot, even if he had no memories of his best friend. Jaemin was informed that Jeno had moved away without telling anyone to save him from finding out the truth, and Renjun supposes that’s the not so nice part. However, he reassures himself that it must be better this way. Jeno gets to live his life happily in some far corner of the world, and even though Jaemin has lost his best friend he still has Mark. Yes, it must be for the best.

Dozens of people have come to Renjun for help, some with similar situations to Jeno and others who simply found their unrequited love to be bothersome. 

_ Better to forget than to pine for a lifetime, Renjun _ , the God of Love had told him once over rose tea and biscuits. Renjun had nodded and agreed then. Yes, surely it was better to forget than waste away with feelings that would never go anywhere. They would just get in the way of things, those pesky feelings.

So Renjun listens to the Gods and to the people around him. He takes their words and makes them his truth, and doesn't dwell too long on the doubts that sprout like weeds in a garden when he's just about to go to sleep. Renjun plucks the weeds out of the flowerbed of his mind and lets the wind carry them somewhere far off where he'll never see them again, and yet...the weeds still grow back. 

Why?

Renjun should be content. He's alive, he's helping people, and it still feels like something is not quite right.

Maybe it's the way that when he helps someone forget their unrequited love, the memories of that person don't just disappear like everyone believes. They just assume he erases their memories. In reality, it’s more like Renjun absorbs the memories, leeching them from the person like a starved fruit fly to a bruised apple. He's guilty of thinking back on these memories when he starts to feel just a little lonely. Memories of being held by a best friend, of being praised by a co-worker for a job well done, of just basking in the warmth of  _ that  _ person's beautiful laughter. Renjun wonders, then, if this is what his forgotten love was like.

He tries not to think about it too much, because wanting to find out would only lead to pain. After all, his memories were taken just like he has done to others to save his life. There's no point in dwelling on a forgotten love. 

\---

"Renjun!" 

A voice outside his window startles the boy out of his half-slumber. Rubbing his eyes and slipping out of bed Renjun heads towards the open window to see Donghyuck standing in his patch of daisies.

"What do you want, Donghyuck?" he asks sleepily, yawning once as the other boy attempts to climb over his windowsill. Renjun steps back to allow the other inside, grunting in annoyance at the thought of Donghyuck both crushing his flowers and tracking dirt inside his bedroom. The other doesn't seem to mind at all, holding his arms out to Renjun when he gets his stomach to rest on the bottom of the window frame. Renjun helps him the rest of the way down so he doesn't slip and land on his head, hands wrapped around Donghyuck's waist until his feet touch the ground. When he pulls away he's grinning, wheat-colored hair shining in the afternoon sunlight.

"What? I can't visit my best friend out of the blue?"

Renjun levels him with an unimpressed stare, "You never do things "out of the blue," Donghyuck. You're rash, but you always have a motive."

Raising his hands in mock surrender Donghyuck at least as the presence of mind to look a little sheepish. He should be, considering he interrupted Renjun's nap time and, oh, yes, there's potting soil on his floor now.

"Alright, if you must know," Donghyuck sniffs. "I wanted to see you."

"For what?"

Donghyuck throws his hands up in the air, "Just to see you! Jeez!" He sounds a little angry now and Renjun feels a tiny sliver of guilt - tiny because he's still 99% sure Donghyuck has a reason for being here, but for now he'll play along with whatever the boy has planned. Hopefully it doesn't turn out like last time where Renjun ended up getting banned from his favorite library.

"Alright, alright. You wanted to see me." He puts his hands on his hips, leaning to balance most of his weight on his right foot. "Now you've seen me."

"Okay, yes, I've seen you, but I want to keep seeing you. Make sense?"

"Hm...nope, not really."

Grinning as Donghyuck frowns the older boy suddenly steps forward to wrap an arm around his neck, pulling him down to lightly grind his knuckles against Donghyuck's scalp. He only let's go when Donghyuck smacks the flat of his palm against his chest and pouts angrily, nose scrunched up all cute like a chipmunk, causing Renjun to laugh.

"Okay, I'm done, I'm done, I promise."

"You better be," Donghyuck grumbles, stomping over to Renjun's bed and promptly flopping face down into his sheets. 

"Hey! At least take your shoes off. I don't want any dirt in my blankets."

Donghyuck sits up at that, still grumbling, and unties his sneakers while Renjun takes a few tissues from his desk and picks up the soil under the windowsill. A light breeze comes through and ruffles his dark hair, naturally curled from when he took a shower earlier. 

"Renjuuuuuun," Donghyuck whines from his bed, and when the older boy looks back he's already snuggled underneath the covers. 

"Oh, I get it now," Renjun says, dumping the tissues in his trash bin.

"What?"

"Your motive."

"I told you I didn't have one!"

"You totally did though," Renjun grins, standing next to the bed before jumping onto it, startling Donghyuck to let out a small  _ oof! _ as they both flop like fish out of water. When they still Renjun is laying against his other pillow and they're looking at each other. "You just wanted to cuuuudle, didn't you Donghyuck?"

"N-No! Shut up!"

"You totally wanted to cuddle you big baby! Come 'ere!"

"Nooooo!" Donghyuck wails, gasping out a laugh as Renjun tries to grab him where he's pressed himself against the wall. He laughs harder when Renjun's hands find his sides and start tickling him without mercy. "No, please, stop! Oh my, haha, Gods, Renjun! Stop it!" 

Renjun only stops once he can get his hands wrapped around Donghyuck's waist, effectively trapping the other boy in his arms. Only then does Donghyuck go quiet.

"Admit it, or I'll tickle you again."

"No." Donghyuck mumbles, not looking him in the eyes, and Renjun grins evilly. His hand trails back to the boy's side, poking him in the stomach.

"I will not have mercy on you, Hyuck. Tell me the truth."

"Okay!" Donghyuck whines, clutching the front of Renjun's t-shirt and hiding his face in it. "Yes, I came over for cuddles. Are you happy now?"

"Yeah, I am." 

Smiling fondly down at the crown of Donghyuck's head Renjun hugs him close. He's not normally so touchy. In fact, Renjun has always been quite the opposite, but with Donghyuck it's different. The boy practically lives on touch, and early in their friendship when Renjun had discovered that Donghyuck was purposely trying not to hug and hold him for fear of scaring Renjun off he'd gotten so angry he didn't talk to Donghyuck for a whole day. Then they made up, and Renjun had been sure to make it explicitly clear that Donghyuck could touch him any time he wanted. 

That's just how they worked. 

It must have also been due in part to Donghyuck's own ability. Renjun had only found out about it after they had become friends. Donghyuck was able to spread positive feelings through touch. When he was happy? He hugged his friends close to give them a taste of that very same happiness. That could be said for excitement, joy, adrenaline and kindness too. Somehow it didn't work with his negative emotions, but when Renjun asked him about it Donghyuck had said he was thankful that it was just the positive ones. 

_ Why would I want to make people feel sad or angry? _ he'd explained to the older boy.  _ I hate when I feel that way...I don't want other people to feel it too, not when they don't have to _ .

It was that moment that drew the two inexplicably close. Renjun considered Donghyuck to be his best friend, maybe even more than a best friend in a  <strike> strictly </strike> platonic sense. He was most comfortable when Donghyuck was around, and relaxed and let himself truly be free in the presence of the sunshine boy. 

He liked to think that Donghyuck did the same with him, and for a time the boy did. 

Until something changed that summer.

Renjun still doesn’t know what it is, but whatever is plaguing Donghyuck hasn't gone away. He doesn't want to pressure the other into answering, but he also doesn't want him to deal with it alone. He asked once, but Donghyuck had pretty much completely shut him out before almost begging him,  _ please don't ask again _ . Renjun promised he wouldn’t, and the next day things went back to normal - for the most part.

He could tell there was something off about Donghyuck ever since then, but not enough for anyone else but Renjun to notice. Not even the boy's own parents seemed to know about it. Renjun had even thought about talking to them before Donghyuck told him not to ask (he decided it was too behind-the-back and wasn't fair to the other boy). 

So Renjun waited and waited and still waits, and as he's waiting he'll continue to be there for Donghyuck like this, when he can. If Donghyuck feels safe in his arms then so be it.

"Do you wanna watch a movie?" he asks, and Donghyuck nods into his chest. "Let me grab my laptop then. Do you want popcorn?" Donghyuck nods again, and Renjun smiles softly. He pets Donghyuck's head and presses his lips against his hair before disentangling himself from the other, leaving the room for a moment to microwave some popcorn and find his laptop. Once he has both items he heads back into the bedroom and shuts the door. His parents aren't home, but just in case they come back sooner than expected, it's best to leave it closed. Snuggling back under the covers with Donghyuck he hands him the bag of popcorn as they lean against the pillows together. 

"What do you want to watch?"

"I dunno...something with hot ladies?"

Renjun laughs, playfully hitting Donghyuck's blanket-covered leg while the younger grins toothily. 

"We all know your into hot  _ dudes _ , Donghyuck. Not ladies."

"Hey, you are too, Mr. _Lu Han Is the Most Beautiful Man In the Whole World_."

"He is!" Renjun retaliates,  _ but not as beautiful as you _ . As quick as the thought comes he pushes it away and focuses on finding something for them to watch. "How about a superhero movie? Don't they have that new Thor one?"

"Sure." 

Once the movie is playing Renjun feels Donghyuck scooch closer to him, resting his head against the older boy's shoulder and munching on buttery popcorn. Renjun likes this - the easy going atmosphere and how comfortable they are together. He takes a handful of popcorn every once in awhile and eats it slowly, eventually laying his head on top of Donghyuck's. For the rest of the movie they stay like that, wrapped up in each other and unknowingly laying down further into the bed until, once the end credits are rolling, Donghyuck's head is pillowed against Renjun's chest and the older has his arm around the boy's shoulders. 

"Hey, Donghyuck," he whispers, gently shaking the boy who'd somehow managed to fall asleep. "The movie's over."

Blinking slowly Donghyuck eventually moved, yawning quietly and stretching just a little before looking at Renjun. He smiled softly, and a little sadly, "Oh, hey, Junnie."

"Hey, Hyuck," he said back, smiling a little as well. "You alright?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah." Donghyuck replied distractedly, frowning a little as he pulled himself up from Renjun's chest. Looking around the room a bit both of them realized it was getting darker. The sun was still out, but just barely, dipping behind the horizon of the forest and mixing orange light with the purple of the night sky. 

While staring outside Renjun didn't even notice as Donghyuck took the laptop and closed it, placing it carefully on the floor.

It's only when the younger boy grabs him by the shoulder to turn him over that Renjun really looks. The sadness in Donghyuck's eyes is so deep Renjun could swim in it.  _ What made you that sad? _ he wants to ask. Instead he shifts under the blankets, and stares at Donghyuck who stares back at him. 

"Do you miss your love, Renjun?"

It sounds out of the blue, but like Renjun said before he knows nothing is ever  _ out of the blue _ with Donghyuck. He thinks for a moment, really thinks and shrugs apologetically. 

"Yes, and no."

"Why?"

"Well, it's like...part of me knows there was someone I loved, and that part of me aches even when I can't remember. Part of me wants to know what that love is like, but I can't really miss it if I don't remember it." He smiles ruefully. "Sometimes I wish to remember, but then I remind myself that I'm better off now. They say it almost killed me." Renjun pauses for a moment or two, studying the expression on Donghyuck's face. "So, no, I can't say I miss it. I feel fine."

Donghyuck nods, "So it's better to forget?"

"It must be," Renjun reasons, with the truths he's been given by the Gods and the community and himself stacked up on his tongue. "After all, isn't it better to stop the pain than forcing yourself to live through it?"

"What if...even though it's painful, it also makes you happy? The happiest you've ever been?"

Now Renjun is stuck. 

"Well, I...I suppose," he stops and ponders - tries to wrap his head around the concept of simultaneous pain and happiness. It just doesn't sound possible, in his black and white world; with Renjun there’s always been very few greys. "I suppose that...even if whatever it is makes you happy in moments, it will always inevitably make you sad. It'd still be better to forget and spare yourself the ultimate pain."

Donghyuck nods again, and they lapse into silence. Still laying across from him Renjun has an inkling that this must be about whatever started over the summer. He wants to ask, so bad - he just wants to help, but Donghyuck won't let him in.

Renjun is about to say to hell with it and ask him anyways when Donghyuck levels him with a serious gaze.

"I want to forget, Renjun. Can you help me?" he whispers, and, oh, this  _ is _ about unrequited love. There's a waver in Donghyuck's voice that he's trying so hard to hide, putting on an air of strength like it'll help him get the words out. Renjun smiles sadly then, deep inside wondering just who is making his friend feel this way. Making him hurt enough to want to forget. 

For just a moment, Renjun hesitates.

"Please."

He swallows his hesitation, "I...okay."

There's a moment of tense silence before he pushes the blankets off of them and searches for Donghyuck's hands. Taking them in his own Renjun breathes deeply, and exhales in the air between them. 

"Are you completely sure you want to do this?"

"Yes."

"One hundred percent sure?"

"Yes, Renjun. Now just do it, please."

Renjun closes his eyes and nods to himself. He can do this. He's done it many times before, but there's just something about the fact that it's Donghyuck that everything feels a little off. In the back of his mind a little voice calls his hesitance a sign of something being terribly wrong, but Renjun ignores it because he is a loyal friend. If this is what Donghyuck wants then he'll give it to him. 

"Alright, hold still."

Opening his eyes Renjun clasps Donghyuck's hands firmly in his, their palms flat against each other as he leans forward and presses his lips to the younger's forehead.

Almost immediately the memories start flooding in. It's like watching a movie backwards, starting from the most recent memory of that person and moving all the way back to the very first time they met. The memories also have a film like quality to them, looking through the eyes of the person with an unrequited love. Renjun always feels melancholic after using his power on others, because he can feel the amount of love they have for that person. It really is too bad that it doesn't work out.

When it comes to Donghyuck Renjun doesn't know what to expect.

Maybe it was the bakery boy Yangyang with a penchant for giving out unsold bread loaves to those in need, or Johnny who worked at the local university and taught an independent photography class for those who couldn't afford college. Maybe it was someone like Mark Lee who's in love with someone like Jaemin, and Donghyuck is just another Jeno not wanting to come between them. Maybe it's none of those, but as the memories start playing Renjun wishes it was.

He doesn't expect to see himself.

Through Donghyuck's eyes he's taken back to just minutes earlier when they were still watching the movie, but Donghyuck's not paying attention the screen. Instead he's looking over at Renjun himself, and in the memories Renjun can feel the love in his gaze, soured with the belief that he'll never get to be with the boy he loves.

_ No, Donghyuck, that's not true _ -

Everything in Renjun screams at him to let go, to not go through with the process, but he can't - he can't  _ stop _ it once it's  _ started _ and it  ** _hurts_ ** . 

More memories follow. Last week when they went to the ice cream parlor together, and Renjun had dropped his cone on the ground. Donghyuck had laughed and shared his with the boy while they walked along the river, and that love is still there, Donghyuck's eyes captured by the vision of Renjun's head haloed by a setting sun.

Some of the memories pass by in blurs. Celebrating Gods' Day in the heat of mid-July. Their high school graduation when Donghyuck had hugged him so tight, like he never wanted to let go. When they decided to go to Prom together because neither of them had dates (as "friends,"  _ Gods _ Renjun is such an  _ idiot _ ).

Pretty soon it's reaching the end, and Renjun knows because he sees himself in their uniform from freshman year, and suddenly it's the day they first met. Donghyuck is shaking his hand and  _ why did Renjun never see how sweet his eyes were at that time? _ The love in this memory is small, like a flower bud just waiting to bloom in the spring. Only Donghyuck's love sprouted too late and grew too fast, baking in the heat of this year's summer sun until it withered. Until he couldn't water it anymore and decided to cut the stem.

Renjun expects that memory to be the last, but there's one more left. 

He never knew that this was Donghyuck's first memory of him. Renjun watches himself as he turns and smiles, the wind tousling his hair and his eyes crinkling in happiness. His breath is caught in his throat at the same time as memory Donghyuck's, because  _ oh, what a beautiful boy _ .

And like that it ends. 

Renjun gasps as the memories come to a stop and he's back inside his room, laying in bed with the sunshine boy who looks at him now like he doesn't know where he is, and Renjun's pillow is stained with tears below his head. He takes a shaky breath, letting go of the other's left hand to wipe at his cheek. His fingers come away wet. 

"Donghyuck?" he asks, voice quiet and just a smidgen hopeful. 

Maybe it didn't work. Maybe the Gods knew what was about to happen and stopped it somehow. Maybe-!

"Excuse me...who are you?"

Maybe Renjun's blessing is a curse.

When he starts to sob, the fabric of his heart torn in two, he only cries harder when Donghyuck -  _ his  _ Donghyuck,  _ his _ sunshine boy - wraps his arms around him and holds him close.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong, but I hope you feel better, whoever you are."


	4. constellation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: NoHyuck (Donghyuck x Jeno)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Donghyuck wants to learn more about the boy in the glasses. 
> 
> \+ See if you can figure out what the headings mean. uwu Kinda derailed on this one, but somehow brought it back to constellations. dsjkfhksdh Even if it's forced.

  1. ** White Dwarf  
**

Lee Jeno is _soft_. When Donghyuck first saw the boy he considered this a negative trait. Jeno had zero spine when it came to saying 'no,' and Donghyuck would watch as he was forced to go along with whatever his so-called "friends" had planned. Like a day-old puppy Jeno appeared to be pushed around and easily shoved aside. Lee Donghyuck didn't associate with people who were too afraid to stand up for themselves.  
  
Which is why it was certainly a surprise when he came to school one day to hear everyone gossiping about, of all people, Lee Jeno. 

_ "I heard he tried to shove him into the pool." _

_ "No, I was talking to Hyori, and she said he tried to use a knife." _

_ "I saw him! He had blood all over his knuckles." _

That had been one wild ride of week. From hearing rumors of Jeno beating up what many people claimed was his best friend, to realizing the boy had been suspended for a month after not seeing him in Algebra class for three days straight. 

  
  
  


  1. ** Yellow Dwarf**

Donghyuck would like to say that he was a nice guy, and their next meeting happened to be him dropping off some homemade chicken noodle soup at Jeno's doorstep to make sure he was alright. (This explanation obviously would make no sense seeing as they'd never spoken a word to each other, and Donghyuck is a disastrous cook - his mother would have made the soup for him.)

No, their first official meeting goes a little something like this. 

Donghyuck is walking home from choir rehearsal when he hears a faint meow near the gate at the park. Normally he'd walk away, but when he hears it again something in his conscious wavers, and he finds himself heading towards the area where he heard it. It doesn't take long for him to find the little kitten, only a few weeks old, hidden behind a bush at the corner of the park's fence.

"Hey, sh, it's alright," he whispers, reaching out to the little thing and making soft noises as not to scare it. When it doesn't look like the creature will scratch him he picks it up gently and holds the kitten close to his chest. 

Allowing himself to sit in the grass, backpack placed haphazardly on the ground, he runs his finger over the top of kitten's head, smiling as it meows some more. It's fur is soft and actually pretty clean for what appears to be an outdoor cat. Donghyuck holds it up to look into the animal's little blue eyes. It's so docile, almost like, "Has someone been taking care of you?" The same time he asks this question a shadow stands over him, and he only notices because it covers the kitten too.

When Donghyuck looks up he's face-to-face with Lee Jeno.

"Oh, h-hi," he greets, wincing as the kitten gets antsy and digs its tiny sharp claws into the skin of his hand. 

Now, Donghyuck isn't sure how to react as Jeno walks around and kneels in front of him, because just a week ago he still thought of the other boy as an immensely shy pushover, and now the whole school thinks he’s some dangerous quiet guy ready to snap again at any moment. Part of him wants to ask about what happened as Jeno silently takes the kitten from him, but he's a little nervous to say anything at all, so he just watches as Jeno pulls a baby bottle from the plastic bag he'd been carrying and starts feeding the kitten. 

Donghyuck has never liked silence. Maybe that's why he always talks so much. Maybe that's why he opens his mouth, "So..." Jeno looks up then, black hair falling into his eyes over his glasses, and Donghyuck's heart stutters. "You like cats?"

It's the first time Donghyuck has ever seen him smile for real.

  
  
  


  1. ** Blue Giant**

After that initial meeting the two somehow kept finding each other at the park. Donghyuck learned that Jeno loved cats even though he was allergic, and he was raising the kitten until it was old enough for him to convince his parents he could take it in. Once that happened Donghyuck thought they would part ways. After all, they'd only been meeting up at the park, and never anywhere near each other's houses. However, Donghyuck should have known that when it comes to Lee Jeno you should expect the unexpected. 

"Want to come to my place and see Kitty?"

"Uh, what?"

Donghyuck is still taking his makeup off after rehearsing for the school's musical, looking at Jeno in the mirror. Jeno shrugs and doesn't look directly at him. God, he looks so awkward that even Donghyuck wants to take pity on him - and Donghyuck isn't the type for pity!

"Do you want to-"

"Yes, I mean, yeah, I want to see Kitty." he says, saving the boy from having to repeat himself as he starts to finish wiping away the rest of the makeup on his cheekbones. "Just give me a sec, alright?"

"Alright."

Jeno smiles, again, that little smile that makes Donghyuck's heart flip flop in his chest and flail around like one of those balloon dancers in front of used car dealerships. He looks away and hopes the glitter hides the red on his cheeks.

  
  
  


  1. ** Red Giant**

The first time Donghyuck sees Jeno's bedroom he stops in the doorway for at least a full five seconds. The walls are dark navy and purple, fading into black near the ceiling which is also painted the same color. White dots and shapes are painted everywhere and it takes a moment for Donghyuck to realize that they're supposed to be stars. Posters of spaceships and torn articles from NASA magazines are hanging up on the walls, and the shelves are full of books about the universe and stars and, yeah, that's definitely a Lego model of what Donghyuck thinks is the Hubble Telescope too.

"You like stars then?" he asks, swallowing as he drops his backpack on the floor and keeps looking around. Jeno looks a bit sheepish when he answers, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose like he always does (Donghyuck tries to ignore the voice in his head saying  _ cute _ ).

"Uh, yeah." 

He sounds embarrassed, and Donghyuck takes it upon himself to get rid of that feeling. Turning to face the older boy he grins and flops down onto Jeno's bed. "I think it's cool."

"...Thanks."

  
  
  


  1. ** Red Supergiant**

Jeno still hasn't gone back to school yet because of his suspension, and Donghyuck still hasn't asked him what actually happened, but he realizes one day while sitting on the floor of Jeno's room that he hasn't _really_ wanted to know in weeks. That’s the reason he used to fall back on as to why he continued to visit Jeno, but now it’s burned down to one simple reason. He just wants to be around Jeno. In fact, his favorite time of day now is after school when he gets to spend his time with Jeno and play with Kitty in the other boy’s room. He can’t think of anything better.

Then their normal routine is broken the day before Jeno is set to return to classes. 

Donghyuck is playing with Kitty, waving around a toy with bells, while Jeno is lounging on his bed reading a book about star systems and what-not. Donghyuck doesn’t notice when Jeno puts his book down and thinks.

"Hey, Donghyuck," he asks, looking up at the ceiling covered in glow-in-the-dark stars and moons. 

"Yeah?"

"Can I draw on you?"

"What?"

When Donghyuck looks up at him from the floor Jeno is blushing, and Donghyuck's brain kinda short circuits because here's Jeno, wrapped up in an over-sized hoodie that falls over his knuckles and his messy hair is _so, _so fluffy and his glasses make him look ten times cuter than any other human being Donghyuck has ever seen and- Donghyuck thinks Jeno could ask him for anything like this, and he would say yes. 

So, like every time things get a little awkward, Donghyuck does what he does best.

He gets up off the floor where Kitty has tired herself out, and climbs onto Jeno's bed to join the other boy. He smiles, even if he's nervous, and says, "Yes."

"O-Oh...oh! Okay."

It's like Jeno didn't expect anything to happen, and Donghyuck just hums and shrugs as the other boy places his book on the table, opened to a page about the zodiac constellations and their scientific facts. 

"Where did you want to draw?"

"Ah, um, on your...back? If you don't mind, I mean, you don't have to-"

"It's fine, Jeno," he reassures, even if he's probably as bright red as the other boy now, no doubt about it. "Just give me a second. I am wearing, like, three layers right now."

Eventually, once he's popped his top -  _ ha! _ \- Donghyuck finds himself lying on his stomach on Jeno's bed, arms wrapped around one of the boy's many pillows and burying his head into it. Jeno is kneeling next to him on the bed, eyes trailing over the expanse of Donghyuck's back. He feels exposed.

"Stop staring," he mumbles, pressing his nose so far into the pillow that he almost can't breathe properly. Maybe he doesn't want to, if it would save him from embarrassment.

"Sorry, it's just, I always kinda wondered if you had freckles on the rest of your body or just on your arms and face."

"Oh, so you think about my body, do you, Jeno?"

"Shut up." The boys laughs, and Donghyuck grins, wiggling around. 

"Well, come on then. The picture isn't going to draw itself."

"Don't be so impatient. It's gonna take a second for me to figure out where these all connect."

"Where what connects?"

"You'll see."  _ Wow, mysterious much?  _

After that neither of them talk, the quiet for once not stifling like Donghyuck usually finds it. He did jump when he felt Jeno's cold fingers finally touch his skin -  _ what are you, a vampire?  _ _He complained_ \- but now his hands are warm and sure. Donghyuck can feel the flat of Jeno's palm on his lower back as the tip of the marker traces lines over his shoulder blades.

He probably lays there for an hour or so, but honestly Donghyuck thinks he could lay in Lee Jeno's bed for the rest of eternity and not want to move a muscle. Until Jeno pokes him harshly in the side and he yelps, almost falling onto the floor. He turns to glare at Jeno who's grinning and wow, that's the brightest smile he's ever seen on Jeno's face. Before he can get out a snarky remark Jeno is pushing him to lay back on his stomach.

"Hold still. I'm gonna take a picture so you can see."

"It's done?"  _ Already? _

"Yeah, that's what I was trying to tell you, but I think you fell asleep or something. Now stop moving and let me take the damn picture."

"Ooh, potty words from Lee Jeno! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

Jeno laughs again, "I’ve never kissed anyone." Donghyuck hears the click of a photo being taken, and definitely a fake cough from Jeno to cover up that little piece of information. Donghyuck files it away for later. "Thank you very much."

"Let me see!"

Donghyuck flips over and sits up, making grabby hands for Jeno's phone. Once he has it and he's looking at the picture he's left speechless. His back is covered in constellations. He recognizes a few of them, like the big and little dippers, and his zodiac sign, but the others are lost to him. When he looks close enough he realizes that almost all of them are playing connect the dots with his freckles and moles. 

"What do you think?" Jeno asks, and Donghyuck can tell he's nervous. 

He looks up and smiles, one hand reaching around to touch the stars on his back that he can't see, and says, "I love it."

  
  
  


  1. ** Red Hypergiant **

Donghyuck still doesn't know a lot about Jeno. He doesn't know what exactly happened for him to get suspended. He doesn't know his favorite color, or his favorite bubble tea order that's way too sweet. He doesn't know if Jeno wears contacts at all, if Jeno likes chocolate or strawberry flavors better and he definitely doesn't know why Jeno is the way he is.

What Donghyuck does know is this: that Jeno loves cats even though they make his eyes red and his nose itchy. That Jeno is obsessed with space and his favorite thing to do is stargaze and point out every constellation he knows. That sometimes, when Jeno laughs, Donghyuck has to bite back the urge to cup his cheeks and kiss him like he really wants to.

Donghyuck knows he's a little crazy for Lee Jeno, and he thinks that maybe, just maybe, Jeno is a little crazy for him too.


	5. dimension

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: ChenJi (Chenle x Jisung)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Jisung's best friend is a (friendly) ghost.
> 
> \+ Probably not what the prompt meant by dimension but...here it is.

When Jisung first met Chenle it went a little something like this:

"Aaaaaaaah!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Then Jisung had promptly fainted on his bed, and only regained consciousness in the morning. He'd brushed it off as some freak dream until Chenle's head popped out of his mirror when he was brushing his teeth. Back then Jisung had almost choked on his toothbrush.

Now, at least, he's used to the other boy's presence.

"Boo!"

"Oh my God!"

Or maybe not.

Clutching his heart from where he's backed up against the wall Jisung glares at the other boy. While he's worried about whether or not his breathing is normal, Chenle is doubled over in laughter a few feet away. Or Jisung assumes he's bent over, because he can only see the top half of Chenle's body while the rest is on the other side of the wall. (He'd explained it to Jisung before, something about how his spirit was technically in another dimension, but it was visible in the human world. Jisung had just told him, "Cool," and then, "Wanna watch me beat the computer at Mario Kart?")

"Chenle! You almost gave me a heart attack," he whines, running his fingers through his hair before continuing on his way towards the kitchen.

"I didn't mean to!" Chenle says from behind him, and Jisung doesn't even look back but he knows the other is floating his way through the hall to follow him. "You're just so easy to scare. It's really cute. Your cheeks get all red and-"

"Okay! I don't need to hear that. La la la la la."

The room gets unusually cold then and Jisung rolls his eyes. The sudden temperature changes used to scare him, until he eventually figured out that it just happens whenever Chenle gets either a) too emotional or b) petty. He's definitely on the b-side of things right now.

"I know you're pouting," Jisung says, opening the fridge to pull out the milk jug.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

It gets a smidgen colder and Jisung shivers.

"You are, now stop messing with the temperature, or I'm gonna get a cold like last time." Immediately the air around the room goes back to normal. Chenle is quiet, which finally gets Jisung to look up from the counter top. He sighs a little at the boy's downcast expression. "Hey, Chenle, it's alright. I wasn't even that sick las-"

"You were still sick though. You had to stay in bed for two whole days."

"And then I didn't have to stay in bed anymore. I got better."

"Still-"

"Zhong Chenle I swear, if you try to apologize to me one more time for that I'm going to find someway to punch you without my fist going through you."

That gets the boy to grin, floating higher until he's level with the counter top, and making it look like he's sitting on it.

"As if you could hit me with those noodle arms. I'm in whole 'nother dimension, Park Jisung. You can't touch this."

Jisung wheezes through his teeth, almost snorting his milk from trying to take a drink. Some of it dribbles down his chin as he grabs a paper towel.

"You did not just quote MC Hammer."

"Oh, but I did."

"I can't believe this. Time to call the Ghostbusters, I can't live with someone who thinks it's even remotely okay to mention Hammer Time."

"Again, another dimension! The Ghostbusters can't. Touch. This."

"Stop it," Jisung fake cries, wailing and closing his eyes while pressing the back of his hand to his forehead. He looks like every old painting of a damsel in distress, and he cracks one eye open to watch as Chenle giggles into his palms. It's still a little weird, because Jisung can see the boy's mouth through his own hands, but he kind of likes it that way. He gets to see Chenle's beautiful smile.

"Jisung!" he hears from the front of the house suddenly, almost knocking over his milk as he startles and spilling some more of it. His parents are home. "Who are you talking to?"

"Uh...Chenle the Friendly Ghost!" he yells back, grabbing more paper towel to soak up the drink. As he's doing so his mother's head pops in the entryway to the kitchen, looking around. Then her eyes land on Jisung and she smiles.

"A ghost, Jisung? Really?"

"Oh, let the kid dream," his dad says, stepping behind his mom and kissing the side of her head before heading to his study.

"Yeah, mom, let me dream- no, Chenle, don't touch that!"

As he tries to stop Chenle from fucking with the toaster Jisung can hear his mom laugh down the hall towards the living room. Of course neither of his parents could see Chenle, that's just how it was. As long as they let him "pretend" then he was mostly okay with it.

After all, Chenle really was a friendly ghost.


	6. talisman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: NoHyuck (Donghyuck x Jeno)  
Rating: T  
Summary: Like his teachers in public school had said, Donghyuck was never a very good listener.
> 
> \+ A continuation of one of my speedwrites in 00ff server! Witch!Donghyuck summoned Demon!Jeno for protection from something, but maybe it's the demon he should be worried about. uwu

When he came home that night with the talisman hanging from his neck his grandmother had immediately asked him, "Where did you get that?" She tried to grab it from him with her weak, knobbly fingers, but Donghyuck drew back, defensive.

"Nowhere." he said, avoiding her eyes and feeling the weight of the spell book in his backpack weighing him down.

"Donghyuck," she warned, and he almost caved - almost.

"Just some stupid Halloween store. I thought it was cute. Matched my nail polish, now can you leave me alone?" Quickly toeing off his shoes he brushed past the old woman and made a beeline towards the staircase. The house smelled like rosemary and dead rats - she was probably making another tonic in the kitchen when he came home. Honestly, Donghyuck hadn't even expected her to be up so late. "Probably waiting for me," he muttered under his breath, taking the stairs two at a time to get to his bedroom on the third floor of the house.

As soon as he was inside he shut the door and locked it. Better yet...he also shoves his dresser in front of it halfway, in case she tries to use an unlocking charm to get his door open while he's sleeping. Donghyuck has no doubts that she'd try such a thing just to get a look at the necklace.

Now that he's alone the young witch can breathe easy, dropping his bag next to his bed and heading towards the bathroom.

He steps through the messy hole in the wall to get inside it. (The bathroom wasn't connected before to his room before. He had to smash the wall to get to it, and sealed off the actual door so he had it all to himself. His grandmother hadn't been too happy about that, but what could she do? Bust it down herself?)

Donghyuck turns on the tap and squirts some foaming soap into his hand. It smelled like pumpkin pie - or so the dollar store had advertised when he bought five bottles of it on sale. Pushing his hands under the running water he looked into the mirror, eyes naturally drawn to the necklace around his neck.

It was shaped like a choker, made with thick black ribbon and the talisman hanging off it by a loop of gold. The talisman itself was just a small black stone, but the etchings on it were the important part. Like, let's say, the protective wards of a demon after making a deal with said evil creature. Donghyuck loses focus in the swirling archaic symbols, barely noticing the shadow of a face in the mirror until he glances at his shoulder.

The witch immediately turns around to find- nothing. There's nothing behind him, and when he looks back to the mirror whatever vision had appeared is gone.

He curses under his breath, "Stupid demon," and turns off the water, wiping his hands down on the fluffy pink towel and throwing it into the shower. He'll take care of it tomorrow with the rest of his dirty laundry.

Once he's back in his bedroom he bends over to pick up his backpack, only to realize that it's open. He definitely had it closed when he brought it upstairs with him. Quickly reaching inside and rummaging around his heart drops. The spell book, it's gone. _Fuck_, what is he going to do? He's sure he had it earlier, and there's no way it could have just _fallen out_ of the bag. If it got into the wrong hands...

"Pretty heavy reading you have here," says a voice behind him, and the witch immediately turns around to find the demon from earlier sitting in his chair. He sees red. Donghyuck marches up to the demon and swipes the book from him, cradling it to his chest and glaring.

"Don't touch that," he hisses, stomping back to his desk and opening the drawer to lock it away. Out of the corner of his eye he watches as the demon reappears on his bed. "What do you want?"

"What? I can't visit my favorite witch?"

"We met for the first time five hours ago." Donghyuck points out, whisper-yelling at the demon because yes, he definitely wants to get after him, but if his grandmother found out he was even talking to a demonic creature - she'd probably have a heart attack and die. And then come back and beat him with her broom. (That's if he was just talking to the demon. Donghyuck doesn't want to know what she'd do if she found out he'd summoned it, made a deal with it and now had a one-way ticket to Hell stamped on his soul like a post-it note. She'd probably come down to Hell herself and drag him back up by the ear).

"Semantics," says the demon with a sharp grin, dissolving in thin air and materializing on the other side of the room yet again. Now he's looking at Donghyuck's collection of crystals and gems.

"I can hardly be your favorite which." Donghyuck scoffs, making sure the drawer with his spell book is absolutely secure before he starts getting ready for bed. He doesn't really want to go to sleep with the demon in his room, but maybe if he makes it clear that he wants to sleep then the creature will hopefully leave him alone.

"Oh, are you putting on pajamas?" he asks as Donghyuck has one leg in his pants while taking them off. "We can have a sleepover."

Donghyuck is tired, cranky and hates being poked fun at - the demon is also the cause of all three of these, so Donghyuck doesn't think he can be blamed for what happens next.

"God! I know you don't want a Goddamn sleepover!"

Oh, yeah, there's Donghyuck's "anger issues" that the school counselors never seemed to get enough of. Donghyuck thinks he has a right to be angry right now. The demon keeps teasing and toying with him, making little remarks and messing with his stuff. Why can't he just leave?

"Get the fuck out of my room." he snaps.

Stepping out of his jeans Donghyuck leaves them to pool on the floor, not looking at the demon as he gets into bed. After a minute or two he turns over to find his room empty. It's like the demon wasn't even there in the first place. With a sigh of relief the witch reaches over to turn off his desk lamp, getting comfortable under the blankets and closing his eyes.

"That's not very nice."

His eyes fly open at the demon's voice right next to his ear, and in the dark he can see glowing purple eyes just inches from his face. Donghyuck is about to jump off the bed to get away only to find that his limbs are frozen and he's stuck in place.

"You should be nicer to me," the demon says, and Donghyuck can hear a pout in his tone but he knows it's all pretend. If he wanted to the demon could very well rip his heart out and be done with it, and Donghyuck thinks he might actually do it with the way the demon leans down to press their face into his neck. The demon noses along the underside of his jaw and Donghyuck can feel - oh, God, is that a forked tongue? Is the demon _licking_ him?

Everything is hot, far too hot. The demon's skin is hot as hellfire and Donghyuck is already sweating through his t-shirt.

The tail he saw earlier is looping around his thigh now, pushing his boxers up a little, and Donghyuck shudders.

"What do you want?"

"I don't want anything," says the demon, fingers trailing over Donghyuck's chest before resting on the talisman. "Just a little respect. After all, I'm supposed to protect you, right?" He's so close Donghyuck can feel his lips against his ear, warm breath puffing against it with every syllable as his fingers loop around the carved stone, tugging on it <strike>gently</strike> threateningly. "We'll need to get along."

Donghyuck grits his teeth, "Fine."

With the moonlight of the window Donghyuck can see the demon's smirk, and then he disappears. Donghyuck's body tingles and he can finally move again, pulling his covers closer around him and shifting over to press his back against the wall (as if it would keep him safe).

"You're in deep shit Lee Donghyuck," he whispers to himself, and, yeah, he kind of new that from that start.


	7. enchanted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: JaemCas (Jaemin x Lucas)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Jaemin and Yukhei are kind of best friends, only Yukhei likes Jaemin more than a best friend should. Instead of confessing like any sane person he goes to the rumored school witch for a love potion. He just wants to know what it would be like to have Jaemin love him back, but somewhere along the way he messes things up and maybe finds out that Jaemin likes him too.
> 
> \+ RARE PAIRS RISE (Be prepared for some obsessive behavior, but, like, artificial obsession...you'll see.)

"Come out, come out, wherever you are, Yukhei!" 

A vase crashes to the ground and Yukhei knows it was his mom's favorite one. If he isn't dead by the end of tonight then she'll be the one to throttle him when she comes home and finds it smashed. Really, that should be the least of his worries right now as the doorknob to the bathroom starts shaking. 

He's outside.

"I know you're in there," says the intruder, and Yukhei's heart climbs up in his throat. He even stops breathing to stay quiet, clutching the small purple bag in his hands and trembling like a leaf. 

The door clicks, unlocked.

"Found you."

+++

"You got the stuff?" he muttered, looking around under his hood to see if anyone was watching them. A few students walked by in pairs and trios, but none of them even glanced his way. 

Donghyuck popped his bubblegum extra loudly and rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I have the stuff. Now where's my money."

"Oh, yeah, right."

Fumbling for a moment Yukhei shoves his hands into his pockets and searches for the wad of bills - a whole 15 dollars and 32 cents. He hands it over to the younger boy as discreetly as he can. That is, to say, by edging closer while trying to simultaneously hide the transaction behind his back. Donghyuck is done with it after about .5 seconds and just takes it from Yukhei without minding the other people. 

No one is looking still. 

"Here you go then," he says, holding the brown paper bag out to Yukhei, but before he can take it Donghyuck swipes it back. "And don't be an idiot. Follow the instructions and only give it to whoever you have a stupid crush on."

"It's not stupid." Yukhei whines, and then finally gets the bag in his hands, clutching it nervously and hoping nobody saw what just happened. 

"Pleasure doing business with you," _Pop!_ Donghyuck spits his gum on the ground and replaces it with another stick, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking away, leaving Yukhei to stand awkwardly against the bricks behind the school building with his hood pulled up. He immediately pushes it off his head and a freshman looks at him funny, so he speed walks back to the locker rooms on the other side of the grounds as quickly as he can. Classes are starting soon and it'd look even more suspicious if he missed one.

"What's in the bag, Lucas?"

He freezes in front of his locker before shoving said bag into his backpack, _totally_ inconspicuous. 

"Oh, haha, hey, Mark," he greets, shutting the door to his locker a little too loudly and waving at his friend. "The bag? It's nothing. What bag? I don't know about a bag." He not only gets that all out in one breath, but by the end of it Mark is looking at him like a deer in headlights. Yukhei probably looks the same, raising one hand and suddenly yelling, "Bye!" dashing down the hallway with the grace of a golden retriever puppy. 

"Strange," Mark says to himself. Then he shrugs, turns on his heal and walks to the student council room like he always does (ever oblivious as he always is too).

That night Yukhei stays up far too late, messing about in the kitchen while his parents are asleep. The paper bag is half crushed on his counter top with the contents spread out before him. Yukhei is leaning over and reading the hand-written instructions Donghyuck had put inside the bag.

"...important, exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point - does it need that many exclamation points?" he mutters to himself. "Measure veeeeeery carefully. Too little potion is useless...too much may result in death!? Haha, just kidding. No one's going to die, _oh, thank God_. Too much potion in relation to body weight can make the affected loopy and or obsessed. If you make too much and still use it, like an idiot, hope that they're loopy. Whatever that means. I guess I just have to mix it all together now?"

So, Yukhei does exactly that. He tries to follow Donghyuck's instructions as best as he can, but it would have been helpful for him to know the difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon. By the time he's finished stirring everything together the potion is bright pink, almost fluorescent in color.

"Is it supposed to look like that?" he asks himself. Then he shrugs, considers it done, dumps the liquid in a small bottle (losing half of it in the process) and calls it a night.

When he's back at school the following morning Yukhei has the small vial hidden in the pocket of his jeans. It's not like he could carry it around in his hand, it was way to eye-catching. (Most likely because Donghyuck himself had taken the liberty of decorating it with little red hearts, and the stopper was a pink rubber cork with a heart shaped top. Yeah, not something Yukhei would normally be seen with.)

Throughout his morning classes he fidgets nervously in his chair, pointedly ignoring Mark as the boy looks at him with concern. 

"You alright, Lucas?"

"Fine!" he exclaims, immediately being shushed by the teacher and ducking his head in embarrassment. "I'm fine. Just, uh, got a lot of energy."

"If you say so."

By the time lunch rolls around Yukhei feels a little sick to his stomach, the press of the vial against his leg feeling like a brand. He's even a little scared to leave his algebra classroom because waiting in the hall for him is, "Yukhei!"

Na Jaemin.

Looking up from where he'd been stuffing his notebook into his bag Yukhei trips over himself and drops his pencil at the younger's greeting. Dropping down to pick it up he stands tall, flushed in embarrassment. Not just embarrassment, but with the <strike>little</strike> big crush he's been harboring on the pink-haired boy since November of last year. 

"Oh, hey, Jaemin. What are you doing here?"

"Um, it's lunch time?" The boy is clutching his backpack straps and raises a brow. "We always eat together at lunch?"

"Right! How could I forget...haha."

"Well? Come on, let's go," Jaemin pretend-whines, lips pushing into that cute little pout that Yukhei can never say no to. He even playfully stomps his feet a little and crosses his arms. "It's peach cobbler day and I want at least two pieces before it's all gone."

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." 

Yukhei surrenders to Jaemin's charms like he always does and slings his backpack over one shoulder, following Jaemin out of the classroom as the younger starts speed-walking down the hallway. Yukhei is so distracted that he doesn't even remember why he was so nervous in the first place, until they get to the cafeteria. That's when it really settles in, because Jaemin is looking up at him when they reach the end of the line with sparkling eyes, "Will you go get me a milk? One of the white ones- actually, yeah, get me two cartons, please. Thank you!"

Yukhei doesn't think he could ever say no to Jaemin, so he nods and let's out a choked, "Yeah." Jaemin smiles and then skips off to their usual table, leaving Yukhei to himself. 

It's like everything is moving in slow motion when he reaches into the open fridge to grab three milks, two white for Jaemin and one chocolate for himself, setting them on the extra table against the wall for Wednesday desserts. He opens one of the white milks without even thinking about it and pulls the vial out of his pocket. Yukhei looks at it, the pink liquid inside swirling around and sparkling in the sharp cafeteria lights. 

It's now or never.

He uncorks the bottle and holds it over the open carton, hesitating at the last minute. "Just do it, Yukhei," he tells himself under his breath, and with a burst of determination he dumps the entire contents of the vial inside. "No, wait, not that much!" It's too late, the potion mixes with the milk until it's baby pink and smells like strawberry shortcake. God, he didn't even think about it changing colors.

What is he going to do? Maybe he should just throw it away? Yeah, that seems like a good id-

"Hey, can you get out of the way?" 

Yukhei turns around to see an annoyed student - more like an annoyed line of students - behind him, nodding quickly and picking up his tray, shoving the corked bottle into his pocket and apologizing as he makes his way to the table. There should be a trash can on the way, he can just-

"There you are!" Jaemin. "Was wondering why you were taking so long."

Now he can't throw the milk away because Jaemin will see it and it would just be weird and awkward and Yukhei can't stop himself as his legs carry him to sit at the table. He forces a smile and shrugs.

"Got lost."

"Did you get my milk? Ooh, yes! Gimme, gimme, gimme."

Jaemin makes grabby hands at the cartons and somehow, against the part of him screaming _no_ Yukhei pushes the tray closer to the younger. He takes the already opened carton without looking inside it.

"Did you drink some of this?" he asks, shrugging once at the thought before going to drink some himself. He swallows, only to grimace and hold it away from him. "Ew, gross, did you get me strawberry?" Yukhei only shakes his head, eyes wide because that was definitely the carton he poured the potion into. Jaemin studies the outside - _yup, definitely says 1% white milk_ \- and then looks at the inside where it's still pink. The older suddenly laughs, awkward and stilted.

"They must've gotten the milk mixed up at the packaging plant or something. Put the strawberry in the white cartons."

He laughs some more and Jaemin stares at him.

"Anyways!" Yukhei suddenly stands up and grabs the carton. "I'll just go throw it away since clearly neither of us is going to drink it. I'll be back!"

After he dumps the carton he wrings his hands together and looks over at the table. Jaemin is just eating his food like usual and scrolling through his phone. Nothing out of the ordinary. _Shouldn't it be working by now?_ he asks himself, squinting a bit and taking his time getting back to the other. By the time he's sitting down again, and Jaemin doesn't look at him any differently than normal, Yukhei decides that it must not have been enough. Maybe the potion was even a dud! With that thought in mind he feels much, much better and digs into his own school lunch, the tension around his shoulders disappearing and staying gone for the rest of the day.

It's six thirty in the morning when Yukhei suddenly wakes up, which is strange in and of itself considering that even though classes start at eight he's never up before seven thirty. A few moments pass and he realizes the reason he's awake is because of an incessant knocking on the front door.

Stumbling out of bed in a pair of boxers and an old t-shirt he makes his way down the stairs, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Coming, I'm coming," he mumbles. When he opens the front door he doesn't expect to see Jaemin standing on the other side. Yukhei's arm drops down as he stares at the boy who looks...nervous? "Jaemin...what are you doing here?"

"Oh! Um," Jaemin bites his lip and looks at the ground, scuffing his shoe against the concrete. "I was hoping we could walk to school together?" 

"...it's six thirty in the morning, Jaemin. We don't have school for over another hour."

"Hm? Oh, yeah..."

The boy seems to deflate a little in front of him, and Yukhei is still waking up when he steps aside.

"Just, come in, yeah? I still have to get ready and then we can go."

Immediately Jaemin brightens, looking up and smiling like a kid on Christmas before skipping into the house. Yukhei closes the door and shakes his head as the other invades his living room. He trudges back upstairs to start his daily routine (an hour earlier than usual) and it's only when he's brushing his teeth that he remembers: Jaemin lives all the way on the other side of town.

After that weird incident the rest of the day is just...strange. 

Jaemin follows Yukhei around like a puppy with attachment issues, clinging to his arm and staring at him as often as he can. He even sits next to Yukhei in contemporary history, which doesn't make any sense considering Jaemin doesn't even have that class!

"Listen," Yukhei says in between bites as Jaemin feeds him slices of his cinnamon roll during lunch. The younger shoves another forkful into his mouth before he can continue. "Jaemin, why are you doing this?"

"Because I want to take care of you?" he volleys back, and his tone makes it sound like he's trying to say _that's a stupid question, why would you even ask, Yukhei?_

"By feeding me like a baby?"

"Not like a baby, like a bo- like a lov- like a, uh, um," Jaemin is flustered then, avoiding Yukhei's eyes like he did that morning and taking a bite of the cinnamon roll to muffle his answer. 

"Well, whatever it is," Yukhei sighs. "It's getting a little...weird."

"Do you want me to stop?"

Yukhei wants to say yes, should say yes, but when he peeks up from his lunch tray Jaemin is looking at him with such sad eyes. He looks like he's about to cry, sniffling around his second bite of cinnamon roll.

"Do you not love me?" Now his voice is cracking and Yukhei really doesn't know what to do. He just wants Jaemin to stop looking like, well, like Yukhei just punted his brand new puppy or something out of the window like a football.

"No, nonononono, I do!" he exclaims, "You can keep doing whatever you wanna do. It's fine! See?"

Yukhei reaches over and shoves the rest of the cinnamon roll in his mouth - which is about half of it - getting frosting all over his fingers and chin in the process and making himself look like an idiot when he can't chew properly, but when Jaemin smiles at him like he hung the stars then he thinks he'd be okay with choking to death on it.

After that things just keep getting weirder, and weirder, and weirder for Yukhei. 

For the rest of the week Jaemin shows up on his doorstep at six in the morning, and they walk to school together at seven. He hangs off Yukhei's arm like he's...like he's his significant other or something, and it's kind of everything Yukhei's ever wanted, but twisted around a little. It was only the second day of this all happening that he realized it must have been the potion. That would explain Jaemin's new tendencies and the way he would continuously dive in for a cheek kiss. (Yes, he had tried to go for Yukhei's lips as well, but the older felt guilty at even the thought and stopped him every time.)

Again, it's kind of everything Yukhei wanted, but it feels...off. What he decides to do, like an idiot, is just ride it out and hope the effects of the potion go away (because it's supposed to do that, right? Maybe he should have asked Donghyuck...). In the end this is a horrible idea because the effects of the potion only seem to get stronger. 

_It's an enchantment, doofus_, says Donghyuck somewhere in the distance. 

Jaemin starts to follow Yukhei around 24/7 even going so far as to trail after him when he goes to the bathroom and that's just _awkward_. He could barely convince the boy to wait outside for him, and one day he tried to crawl through the window for at least a second of alone time, but when his feet touched the ground Jaemin was standing at his side. 

"Were you trying to leave me, Yukhei? That's not very nice," he'd pouted and smiled, but there was something dangerous in it that made Yukhei a little scared.

Everything came to a head when Yukhei was assigned a partner for his English project. When he told Jaemin about it - because Jaemin wouldn't let him leave the lunch table now without hearing everything about his day, and nothing but the truth - the other boy's expression had soured for the first time in weeks (two, to be exact - Yukhei was counting).

"You'll have to be alone with him?" he asked, putting his sandwich down on his plate.

Yukhei shrugged, ducking his head, "I mean, yeah. We were going to work on it at my house since it's closer to the school."

"You're only allowed to be with me though." Jaemin's voice is dark. Yukhei didn't even know he could sound like that. When he looks up Jaemin is staring at him, but his eyes aren't the same. They're almost...dead. 

"I'm only allowed- What? You're talking nonsense, Jaemin." Yukhei is scared and tired and angry and he doesn't want to put up with this right now. He starts picking up his things. "You need to get your shit together. I'm no one's, okay?" _Even though I want to be yours, but not like this._ "I'm going to my next class and _you_ aren't going to follow me. Then I'm going to go home with my project partner, and we're going to work on the assignment for however long we need to, without you there. Got it?"

Then he left.

He didn't see Jaemin again for the rest of the day, even in the one class they did share, but he did see Donghyuck. The younger wasn't very happy. 

"You fucked up the potion, didn't you?"

Yukhei still doesn't want anyone to know, so he leans forward and covers Donghyuck's mouth with his hands, to which the boy proclaims _ew_ and bats them away. He wipes his mouth and glares before pulling something out of his pocket and shoving it into Yukhei's chest. 

"Just take this. It'll reverse the effects, but only use a little," his fingers dig into Yukhei's skin through his shirt. "I need this shit back, so don't fucking lose it."

"Why are you giving it to me then?"

"Because judging by the way you so royally fucked up I don't think Jaemin is going to be so lovey-dovey next time you see him."

And Donghyuck had been right.

+++

"Found you."

The door creaks open slowly and Jaemin is standing there. He's a mess with part of his shirt unbuttoned, some scratches on his arm from crawling through Yukhei's mom's rose bushes and his hair all over the place. There's an insane smile on his face and he nudges the door open the rest of the way with the metal baseball bat in his hand. 

"Where's your study partner, Yukhei?" he asks, and Yukhei presses himself against the wall of the shower as Jaemin walks inside. "I was looking forward to meeting him. Just wanted to talk!" 

When he yells he slams the bat into the mirror, and it shatters into the sink and onto the floor.

"Oh, come on," Yukhei whimpers. "My parents are gonna have to pay for that. They're gonna ground me so hard. A-Anyways, he's not here!" Making sure to keep the bag hidden Yukhei watches with wide eyes as Jaemin steps closer, one foot in the tub as he leans forward. His nose is almost touching Yukhei's.

"Where is he?" His breath puffs against Yukhei's lips, eyes still empty.

_Now or never_.

"Right here!" 

Yukhei would like to say that what happens next goes like this: he pinches the contents of the bag between his fingers and throws it in Jaemin's face with a victorious smile. Then Jaemin breathes it in and goes back to normal, and he's all like _oh, Yukhei, you saved me, I'm so sorry I never meant to hurt you_ and then they kiss. Happily ever after. 

In reality it's more like, in a fit of fear, Yukhei grabs the bottom of the bag and dumps everything on top of Jaemin's head. It's a fine gold powder that gets everywhere, but it does the trick. He breathes it in and- sneezes. On Yukhei.

"Oh, gross."

He hears the bat clatter to the floor - loudly - but isn't really paying attention when Jaemin shakes his head and looks up at him. His eyes are back to normal, albeit a little confused, and Yukhei can finally breathe easy. So he does, and coughs when he inhales a bunch of the magic dust or whatever it was that he used. 

"Jeez...what happened?"

Jaemin blinks a couple of times, and a blush crawls up Yukhei's neck as the younger leans against him for support. He helps him by bringing an arm around his shoulders, _for support_.

"Um...freak sickness?"

"I guess. Why are we in your bathroom? Last I remember you gave me...strawberry milk. At lunch."

"Hahaha, um, funny story, actually. No, wait, long, boooooring story. You don't wanna hear it. Way too long. And boring."

"Long and boring, huh? Like you." Jaemin laughs a little, and Yukhei pouts at that. "Just kidding. I feel like you're lying to me, so I want to hear this "long and boring" story later but," he yawns. "I really need...to sleep..."

"Right, yeah, totally. Go to sleep, dude. I'll, uh, tell you when you get up."

Later, when he does tell Jaemin the whole story, starting from Donghyuck to the love potion to the weird powder in the bag, he specifically omits his whole reason for doing it in the first place: because he's kind of in love with Jaemin - has been for at least a year - and wanted to experience what it might be like to be b-b-boyfriends for, like, a week. Jaemin finds out anyways after prodding him for information.

"You know, you could have just told me you liked me." he says when Yukhei is nothing but a pile of his feelings, laying his head on the edge of the bed like a puppy and pouting. "Because I like you too."

_Because I like you too_.

Apparently Yukhei never needed the potion in the first place, and it makes his insides feel all warm and fuzzy. Maybe he's the one under the enchantment when Jaemin tugs him up to peck him squarely on the lips, and yeah, it's so much nicer than he thought it would be.


	8. home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: NoHei (Jeno x Lucas)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Yukhei finds his first and hopefully last home in Jeno.
> 
> \+ I kind of hate this one, but I couldn't think of anything else to write. skdjfhsd Sorry if you can feel that while reading it.

Yukhei's life is divided in two parts.

Before Jeno, and after Jeno.

Before Jeno his day-to-day existence consisted of cold breakfast at the orphanage, dressing up for an adoption day that would never come and being ignored by the rest of the kids who he'd thought were in the same boat as him. Clearly he was somehow separate. (Maybe it was the whispers of a curse, that if you stuck around him for too long you'd meet a horrible end.)

Before Jeno he never had a single person he could call a friend. He never knew what it was like to go spend the night at someone else's house, or how to properly greet another person's parents when they hosted you for lunch and dinner. (Yukhei didn't even know how to approach the subject of parents. His own died when he was just a day old, in a house fire where he was "miraculously" the only one to survive.)

Before Jeno no one ever bothered to teach him about the internet and social media and television. Why would an orphan boy need to know about things like that? He clearly won't be going anywhere great. (That's the thing about the orphanage. The moment they ship you to the front door everyone expects _less_. Yukhei was taught to believe he was less than other kids, especially when he was essentially kicked out at the age of eighteen.)

Quite frankly, before Jeno there was nothing he'd experienced that Yukhei would have to hold onto. Nothing tying him to a place, or even to this Earth. Absolutely nothing.

Until that angelic smile broke the grey clouds and let the sunshine in.

Jeno is not the sole reason Yukhei was able to turn himself around, but that very first meeting was the tiny, necessary spark he needed to light the fire. The fire that kept him warm as he went around looking for a job, eventually being hired at the same place Jeno worked, a small cafe on the corner of a busy intersection. The fire continued to stay lit as the owner offered him a place to stay until he could stand on his own two feet, and Yukhei accepted it gratefully.

The closer they got the easier it was for Yukhei to feel like he had a place where he belonged. Jeno's the one who convinced him to enroll into a program at city hall to earn his GED, in the hopes that one day they could attend the same university together.

It was somewhere between classes and coffee orders and late night conversations that Yukhei realized he was in love. In love with the boy with the smiling eyes and the warm features. In love with the way he never stopped cheering Yukhei on when things got tough, and the way that even though he wasn't a very touchy-feely person he'd offer Yukhei a hug any time he looked like he needed it. In love with a boy so kind and patient that Yukhei never felt uncomfortable around him.

Of course Yukhei had been scared to do anything about it, being a young man without his own home, working as a barista and about to enter college three years late. Jeno is the one that had to tell him first, straight to his face:_ I like you, and I kind of really hope you like me too_.

They dorm together in Yukhei's freshman year, and twelve months later they're splitting the rent on a tiny apartment close to campus. Jeno still works as a barista while Yukhei had been promoted to co-manager, and they make just enough money to get a different movie every Friday night, snuggling together on the thrift store couch Jeno had convinced him was perfect.

One day a second realization hits Yukhei, when he's laying in their shared bed and watching the rise and fall of Jeno's chest, his eyelashes fanning softly over his cheeks in the sunshine: Yukhei feels at home.

+++

"Good morning," Jeno rolls over, face half-pressed into the pillows and Yukhei still thinks he looks like an angel with bed-head and morning breath.

"Morning."

Without a care for how cold his hands probably are he envelopes the younger in a hug, ignoring his protests of _oh my God your hands are fucking cold Xuxi!_ and _you're smothering me, this is how I die, tell my mom I loved her_. He grins and presses a kiss to the top of Jeno's head when he stops squirming.

_Yeah_, he thinks, _home is wherever you are_.


	9. storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: NoHyuck (Donghyuck x Jeno)  
Rating: T // Suggestive Themes  
Summary: Donghyuck is chosen as the piercer in his tribe's appeasement ritual to the sun Gods, only he didn't expect it to go quite like this.
> 
> \+ Warning! There is a scene where someone gets stabbed, but they're not hurt? I guess? This AU might not make any sense because I don't explain anything, but it's supposed to be very high fantasy. Donghyuck and Jeno are members of a Sun Tribe that worships the sun Gods, and there are also other Gods and spirits (spirits like the lightning mentioned in this). I guess if you have anymore questions feel free to ask. fdsfhskhk P.S. - The suggestive stuff doesn't come in till the very end so you can just skip it if you like.

Once all the preparations had been made Donghyuck watched as the tribesman led him out of the hut. For a year he had not seen the other boy's face. Sure, they had spoken through the thin walls of the hut, pressed palms against it where they thought the other's hand was in a ghost of contact, but Donghyuck hadn't seen his face for twelve full moons.

The grey light peeking through the clouds shines on Jeno, and he's pale like the light of the moon. Pitch black hair falls over his forehead and his eyes are just as dark.

Donghyuck has grown up in brightness. Sunshine, warm shades of orange and yellow and red. He's been taught that the sun is life and that it is the most beautiful thing in the entire world. Tan skin, the sweat of a hot summer, warmth. All of this he was raised up and taught by, and he still thinks Jeno - dark, shrouded, different - is the most beautiful thing in the whole tribe.

He wants to greet him. Wants to touch him, hold him, keep him safe from what they're about to do.

Donghyuck isn't allowed to talk though, and Jeno wouldn't let him anyways. This is what he's been preparing for the whole year. Jeno isn't the type to walk away, especially when the elders continuously call it his duty to the tribe. No...Donghyuck can't stop this and he can't stop Jeno, but he can go along with it to make sure everything ends up alright.

Even though he's not allowed to speak, when he catches Jeno's gaze Donghyuck forces a smile. He's trying to be reassuring. _For himself or for Jeno?_ Probably both.

A hand lands on his shoulders just as Jeno nods in his direction, and Donghyuck startles, looking up to the tribe elder in surprise before bowing his head. He apologizes under his breath as fingers dig into his skin before letting go.

After that the sun-kissed boy keeps his head down for the rest of gathering.

They take Jeno by the arms and legs. He's raised up above the heads of the sacrificial bearers, face turned towards the open sky. Donghyuck can only see the top of his head as he's ushered behind the procession. In front of him is the tribe's priest, the tribe's elder and the tribe elder's assistant. Donghyuck is left to trail at the very end of their small parade with the spear in hand. He's clutching it tightly, trying not to think about how within the next hour he'll be plunging it into Jeno's chest.

_For the Gods_, he reminds himself in order to keep his nerve.

1, 2, 3, 4.

1, 2, 3, 4.

Everyone marches in time up the hill leading to the great valley. With every step the sky seems to get darker and more menacing. Thunder rumbles in the distance like a great sleeping beast, and they're walking straight into its den to wake it from its slumber.

He cannot see the lightning yet but it must be there. Somewhere up in the swirling grey clouds, waiting for the moment strike.

Donghyuck is shivering beneath his hefty robes. Like all the others he's draped in the orange fabric weaved with golden stitches and patterns. A band is wrapped around his head and the front of it displays an icon of the sun, all the little gems and jewels that usually sparkled now dull in the stormy weather.

Tiny drops of rain start to hit his rosy cheeks.

He wonders if Jeno is cold up there, or if the hands of the bearers are warm enough. They can't be. Jeno was stripped of his tunic and his foot coverings. His bare skin was completely on display, from sinewy limbs to a muscled torso. The only piece of clothing he was allowed was a pair of leg coverings, and even then he stood out in the dark fabric. Donghyuck never knew there was a color that dark.

It's pouring now that they're in the plain. Mud and grass squelch beneath Donghyuck's feet as he stands just a few feet outside the procession.

They're still holding Jeno up towards the sky and he can see the water drip from the boy's fingertips, the arch of his back and the ends of his hair. The dark locks are plastered against his forehead, almost covering his eyes and Donghyuck wants him to look in his direction. He _needs_ to know if Jeno is okay, if he still wants to go through with the ritual and-

"Donghyuck!"

Snapped out of his daze by the harsh voice of the elder Donghyuck comes to his senses, stumbling towards the man and the priest.

"Yes, elder Ilios."

He keeps his head bowed at the old man's angry gaze, clutching the spear close to his chest as the priest finishes the last of his prayer.

"It is time, young warrior," Donghyuck gulps then. "Pierce the receiver when it is time. You will feel it. Go."

Donghyuck nods and trudges towards the bearers with heavy feet. The closer he gets the higher they raise Jeno, until they all have their arms stretched taut above their bodies and straining to keep him up. High enough for Donghyuck to stand directly beneath him with the point of the spear raised to his back.

The sky glows far above them in that moment, the lightning dancing in the clouds. Like it's taunting him.

Now more than ever does Donghyuck want to just talk to Jeno. Hear him say just one word or sentence. Especially when he feels everyone's eyes on him.

Waiting.

They're waiting for him.

Donghyuck takes a deep breath. He can do this, he has to do this. For the good of the tribe and for the Gods. "For Sol, for Sonne, for Helios, for Iru, for Araw..." he mutters under his breath and closes his eyes. A moment passes as he lets the names of every God and Goddess fall from his lips, each one giving him the strength to hold the spear firmly. When he opens his eyes he already has it pointed directly to the center of Jeno's back. Just the sight almost makes him curse and drop the blade, but he holds onto it tightly.

He breathes in and the air smells different. It's electric. Charged.

Gazing past Jeno's body Donghyuck tries to look up into the sky for a sign. His eyes scan the clouds and the winds, but it tells him nothing. In the corner of his periphery he sees Jeno's right hand close into a fist, like he was expecting Donghyuck to look. It helps calm his heart by a bit, but only by a bit.

Lightning strikes less than a mile away, searing his vision as the procession gasps around him. Any second now Donghyuck will have to go through with the ritual, and he just hopes that he does it right - for Jeno’s sake.

Donghyuck can't see when the lightning strikes right above them, but he can feel it. Feels it right as he drives the point of the spear through the center of Jeno's chest and breaks with how much he didn't want to do it. He can't tell if the thunderous roar is Jeno screaming or him screaming or the screeching lightning bolt sent down from the heavens. Maybe it's all three.

Before he can grieve for anything Donghyuck is flung back with the rest of the procession. Everything burns white hot outside of his closed eyelids, and the hair on his arms and the back of his neck stands as static runs through the field.

The clap of thunder is practically deafening and his tears mix with the rain soaking his face.

When he opens his eyes Donghyuck is met with the sight of his fellow tribesmen sprawled on the ground. He doesn't have the time to make sure they're still alive or not as his gaze is drawn to the lone figure floating inches off the ground.

Jeno.

Where his hair was once pitch black it is now shock white. His body is framed in a white glow that, if Donghyuck tries to look directly at it, makes his eyes feel like they're burning. His head is tilted down towards his chest and the rain appears to slide off of him without touching him at all. The spear Donghyuck had used to conduct the lightning has fallen behind him, and there’s no sign of a wound at all.

Donghyuck doesn't know what to do, so he does the only thing that feels right and calls Jeno by name.

"Jeno?"

At once a powerful gaze is directed right at Donghyuck when Jeno lifts his head. It pins him where he's laying on the ground, half propped up on an elbow and watching as the other's bare feet touch the ground.

"Donghyuck." Jeno's lips are moving, but the voice that comes out of his body sounds like an echo of himself. It's simultaneously thunderous and quiet, like the whisper before a storm carves itself into the sky and drops buckets of water onto the earth without a care for the things inside its dusty dirt bowl. It sends shivers up Donghyuck's spine.

"Jeno?" he tries again, pushing himself up further as the cold seeps into his bones, freezing when the boy starts walking towards him purposefully.

"Lee Donghyuck, my lightning rod."

When he's close enough to stand directly before Donghyuck that's when the sun child can see it. In Jeno's eyes his normal dark brown irises have been replaced with orbs of the darkest blue. Little bolts of lightning flicker in those dark eyes, moving like something alive.

"What are you?" he whispers, staring up and wondering if the anguish is showing on his face because _that's not Jeno, it can't be, where's Jeno?_

The thing wearing his friend's face smiles, half-rueful and half-amused, kneeling down on the wet ground before Donghyuck. It places a hand against the boy's calf, a tiny electric shock causing him to jolt in his place.

"I'm Jeno," it says.

"No, you're not."

"I am," it pushes, leaning further into Donghyuck's space with those hypnotizing eyes, with that voice that sounds so much like Jeno and doesn't. "I am Jeno, and I am the lightning. We are the lightning and Jeno."

"I don't understand."

He watches as the other places a hand on its heart.

"Do you know why Jeno was chosen?"

Donghyuck shakes his head.

"He was chosen because he was created by the Gods for this very purpose. He exists to be the receiver, Donghyuck. Only Jeno is strong enough to hold my power, strong enough to fuse, with me, in this very moment."

"...Jeno?"

A familiar grin stretches across the other's face, "The one and only."

Now that he's closer Donghyuck can see that the other's hair isn't plain white, but more of an off-white, blonde as bleached as the bones in the priest's hut. The lightning in his eyes is still dancing, but it's calmer now, as is the glow surrounding him in some kind of protective force field.

Donghyuck is taking it all in and barely notices the way the other is placing himself in the V of his legs until their noses are far too close.

"W-what are you doing?" he squeaks, back pressing into the muddy ground and dirtying his ceremonial robes even more. Gods, the elder is going to kill him - if he isn't dead already. Donghyuck gulps, and it's like the other can sense his fears.

"They aren't dead, Donghyuck. Just asleep."

"Are you sure?" he asks, eyes wide as the other takes one of his wrists and pulls it from where its curled against his chest, gently pressing it into the grass and smiling down at him.

"I know, because I’m the one who put them to sleep. Everything's alright." he says, taking Donghyuck's other wrist with his free hand and pulling it close, placing cold lips against the boy's fluttering pulse. Another shock of electricity runs through his body and he weakly jumps.

After the first kiss comes another and another and another. They trail down his arm to the crook of his elbow, and each time Jeno's lips meet his skin it's like static clings to the marks. Where his fingertips are pressed into Donghyuck's wrists an energy thrums through them. Like a current it connects them to each other. It makes Donghyuck feel tingly.

The rain keeps falling and everything is wet and cold and he's shivering in his robes. Jeno - the lightning? - doesn't seem to be affected at all.

He leans over Donghyuck, presses his lips against the boy's and it's like all of Donghyuck's thoughts are whisked away with the storm. When Jeno's tongue slides against his lips he does only what feels right - opens his mouth and lets the other in.

At some point he finds his arms wrapped around the other's neck, headband askew in his hair until Jeno's fingers are running through it and pushing it off. By then he's got another hand on Donghyuck's thigh under his robes, and Donghyuck's other leg wrapped loosely around his waist. Donghyuck gasps when he's pulled flush against Jeno's front and the other pulls open his robes, revealing a tanned chest dotted with freckles.

"Beautiful," Jeno whispers, pressing the flat of his palm against Donghyuck's stomach, the boy flushing beneath him. "My lightning rod." His hand slides lower, and lower.

"Aren't we s-supposed to, ah-! Continue the ritual?"

Jeno is leaning over him again, the ghost of his lips hovering over Donghyuck's. He smiles, "This is the ritual, little lightning rod. Will you accept it?" It's like the lightning in his eyes smiles too and it's all Donghyuck can do, nod his permission, sucked into the mesmerizing heat and light and the feeling of Jeno's skin against his.

For Sun and Soel and Ra.

For Jeno.


	10. reincarnation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: None (Jeno-Centric)  
Rating: G  
Summary: This morning he woke up as Lee Jeno and now he doesn't even know what he is.
> 
> \+ A small portion of my Lucifer!Jeno agenda. :^)

He wants to scream - rage, roar, attack, destroy, fight, yell, massacre.

"Do it, Father. Kill me! End me!" he bellows up to the sky, standing on a hill just outside the bustling city. It's pouring rain, the wind howling around him and whisking his cries off, taking them anywhere but the Heavens. "I know now! I know you're the one who trapped me in this pathetic human body." He can feel every muscle movement and expansion as his chest heaves. It's alarming, unwanted. He's a fallen angel for Heaven's sake! He shouldn't be stuck in some human cage of flesh and blood and bone.

He wants to rip himself apart.

"Why? Why!? I was your Morning Star...I was light! Yet you punish me like this? Block my memories and turn me into one of your "precious" little humans? I don't understand!" For years he believed he was just a plain human - until today, when something in him cracked, and now he was...he doesn't know what he is. "Don't do this to me," he laments, the anger dissipating as he falls to his knees on the muddy ground. Everything is _too much, too much, too much_. His fingers are in his hair, gripping it tightly, pulling, pain, needing something to ground him. "Don't leave me like this..."

This morning he had woken up as Lee Jeno the human, and now he's burning_burning**burning**_ heat, fire, fury - the cast aside to God's empire because of one silly little argument.

_I won't do it again_ is waiting on the tip of his tongue, and he knows now that if he fell in line, if he did as he was told, just maybe his Father would let him back in to Heaven. Would let him stay at his side.

_Let_.

He doesn't need permission, swallowing the apologies until they turn to ash. He's thousands of years old, powerful beyond belief. He doesn't need his Father or the angels or any of his stupid, sniveling ape-like creatures.

"I hate you," he sneers, the anger coming over him now like a cloak, a weapon. "I hate your stupid planet and your stupid laws and your stupid, idiotic, meat bag humans. One day," he turns his head back up to the sky, and as lightning flashes there's a shadow of dark wings unfurling against his back. "I'll end it all. You can't keep me trapped in this form forever, Father. I'll make you pay."

He's the Morning Star, the slithering serpent Satan, the Devil himself - a collection of humanity's worst nightmares and horrible deeds, the antithesis of all his Father's creations.

He is Lucifer, and there will be Hell to pay.


	11. sweater

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: MarkNo (Mark x Jeno)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Cuddling and cream-colored sweaters. 
> 
> \+ Catboy!Jeno for the win! Also just wanted something cute so...here it is.

When Mark comes home the lights are off and the house is mostly quiet. Mostly, because he thinks he can hear the TV on in the bedroom as he toes his shoes off in the doorway. Walking past the kitchen he places his book bag on the counter top and pours himself a glass of water from the tap.

"Mark? Is that you?"

Smiling into the lip of his glass he sets it down half full and heads to the bedroom where he heard the voice. The door is cracked open slightly, warm lamplight spilling into the dark hallway. He pushes it open gently.

"Hey, Jeno."

"Hey, Mark," he yawns. "Did you have a late class again?"

Jeno hasn't looked away from the television yet, engrossed in whatever show he's watching as Mark walks over. The boy is laying on his stomach, head at the opposite foot of the bed with a pillow in his arms so he can rest his chin on it. His black tail sways lazily behind him, and his matching ears twitch just slightly. No matter how many times Mark sees him - everyday, really, considering they live together - he still thinks of Jeno as the most beautiful person in the whole world, even framed in the harsh glow of the television, and especially when wearing, "Is that my sweater?"

Kitten ears perking up at the question Jeno finally turns to look at Mark, rolling onto his back and looking down at the sweater. Sure enough it's definitely _Mark's_ sweater, an over-sized cream colored cable knit that his mother got him one Christmas (along with several different variations). He never wore it that often just because it looked too big on him, but it was certainly comfy. It's big on Jeno too, the sleeves falling over his knuckles and the collar just wide enough to tease falling off his shoulder. He shrugs and Mark's eyes are drawn back to his face from where he'd been staring at the revealed skin.

"Yeah, I was cold." Jeno grins mischievously up at Mark, trying to look innocent and failing spectacularly. "You weren't here to warm me up."

Mark rolls his eyes while climbing onto the bed to join him.

"You're a cat. Aren't you supposed to, like, be adaptable to weather change?"

"I'm a hybrid and you know it," Jeno bites, not really angry, and his tail keeps coming up before lightly falling back to the bed, up and down. "Not covered in fur like an actual cat. It gets chilly in here. Which is exactly why you should, like, cuddle me or something right now. Before I die of hypothermia."

"You're not gonna get hypothermia in a warm bed, Jeno."

The cat-eared boy fake wails at Mark's statement, sprawling out and whining, "It's so cooooold. I can't feel my fingers and toes, and you won't hug me, which means I'm going to die of hypothermia and you're going to be held responsible. Do you want that Mark Lee? Do you?"

"Get over here then, you big baby."

Mark is expecting it when Jeno shifts around and gets on his side to wrap an arm around his waist. He does the same thing and pulls the younger closer, and Jeno naturally tucks his head beneath Mark's chin so he can press his nose into the crook of his neck. His fingertips slip beneath Mark's shirt and he jumps - _jeez, your hands are freezing_ \- until they settle on top of the blankets together.

"Feel better?" he asks after a few minutes have passed, and Mark thinks he already knows the answer with how he can feel Jeno purring, a rumble in his chest that makes him feel just as warm.

"Yeah," Jeno's voice is muffled into his neck, the puffs of air tickling his skin and Mark laughs, tickled again as Jeno's ear twitches against the side of his jaw. "Thanks, Mark."

"Anytime."


	12. mythology

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: JaemSung (Jaemin x Jisung)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Jisung is a knight on his first solo mission outside of the kingdom. Something with golden eyes is watching him.
> 
> \+ Okay, so...I totally get that the mythology in the prompt was probably meant to be, like, Greek gods or Egyptian gods and what-not, but in a strike of inspiration I went based off MYTHical creatures instead of MYTHology. I hope this still counts. w h e ez e Also Jisung stutters a lot in this I'm sorry in advance.

Jisung is what you may call a scaredy cat. A crybaby. A pushover. A wimp. The rest of the knights in his training group, sans Chenle, will attest to that. It makes you wonder why he's even in the knight program in the first place.

Maybe it's because of the sick mother he had to leave behind with his father when he signed up to become a knight in the hopes that, well, with enough adventuring he would be able to find a cure for her ailment. Now, several months later, he's preparing for his first solo mission.

"A basilisk."

"A basilisk?" he squeaks, shying away from the illustration slammed down in front of him. When his lead knight pulls his hand off the paper Jisung can see the picture. It's a large snake with menacing eyes staring back at him, and he gulps.

"We've had several reports of village people in the eastern town claiming to see a large serpent in the woods. Three villagers have died already."

"I-If it's so dangerous, why send me out by myself?"

"Nonsense, boy," the head knight laughs and claps him on the shoulder. Months ago it would have knocked the wind out of Jisung. Now he has some muscle and better balance due to hours and hours of sparring on the castle grounds. He only flinches a bit as the man gets close to his face. "You'll do just fine as long as you don't look into the beast's eyes. If it even exists."

"What about it's eyes, sir?"

"One look and you're dead, boy. "

_One look and you're dead_.

Those are the words that follow Jisung when he sets out the morning after, dressed head to toe in light armor and carrying a pack on his shoulder. He'd been offered one of the horses at the stable, but he would feel terrible if there really was a deadly overgrown snake in the woods. Jisung wouldn't want the steed to get hurt.

Chenle is the only one to see him off, waving enthusiastically as Jisung walks to the edge of the dark woods. When he turns back around after walking for a few hours the castle is the size of a pin in the distance. He camps just outside the woods that night when the exhaustion settles in. In his dreams he sees visions of yellow snake eyes and hears whispers:_ turn back_.

In the morning he wakes up uneasy, but determined.

Jisung rolls his little camp back into his bag, wipes his sword blade clean of the morning dew so it doesn't rust, and finally enters the woods. Almost immediately it feels like evening has settled on the earth, only because the forest canopy is so dense the daylight can barely poke through to the ground below. There's no trail for Jisung to follow, but as long as he keeps moving in the same general direction he should be able to make it to the village by sometime mid-afternoon.

Unfortunately, his sense of direction has always been - and always will be - abysmal.

By the time mid-afternoon rolls around he's still in the middle of the woods, breathing a little labored due to the weight of his pack and the fact that he hasn't stopped for a break since the morning. The village should be here somewhere...but when he looks around all he can see are trees, trees and even more trees.

"I'm lost." he says to himself, plopping down onto a flat stone and putting his head in his hands. "Totally lost." While he's busy feeling sorry for himself, that's when Jisung hears a rustling somewhere nearby, followed by a crash and a voice.

"Ow!"

He looks up, eyes darting about the forest and not seeing anyone.

"Hello?" he asks out loud, wondering if that's perhaps not the best idea. What if the basilisk can talk? _Oh, God, I should have asked the head knight what else it can do_. If it's real.

"Hello?" the voice asks back, throwing Jisung out of his thoughts as he stands up quickly. "Hello? Who's there?" Jisung starts to follow the voice, where he hears more rustling. Past just a few trees, only a couple feet from where he's standing, a bush is shaking.

"I'm, uh," he clears his throat. "My name is Park Jisung. I'm a knight from the Lee Kingdom."

"A knight? All the way out here?"

A head pops up from behind the bush and wow, Jisung has never seen hair that blonde before. However, that's not the most peculiar thing about the figure. What's most strange is the strip of cloth wrapped around the other's head like a blindfold, covering their eyes.

"Um, y-yes," he stutters, walking closer to the man - boy? - with hesitance. "I'm on a mission. Do you, uh, need help?"

"What does it look like?"

The stranger is covered in leaves and scratches, probably from walking aimlessly around the woods. His sleeves are long but torn in several places, and Jisung sees a little bit of blood staining his cuffs. Jisung closes his eyes and hopes he won't faint at the sight (it happened during training once - he didn't live it down for two whole years). Then he breathes in and out, opens his eyes and walks surely towards the figure.

"Let me help you. I can take you to the village doctor? That is, if I can find the village...I mean _when_, when I find the village..."

Even without visible eyes he can feel the other leveling him with a deadpan expression.

"I know the way to the village," says the stranger, suddenly looping their arm with Jisung's once he's close enough and taking the young knight by surprise.

"But-"

They must know he's about to say something about his lack of vision, because the curl of his lips into a distasteful frown shuts Jisung right up. He makes sure his pack is secure over his shoulder and that the other is supported against him.

"Alright, um, I guess we go-"

"Forward, and then right, until you get to the stream. Follow the stream to your left and it'll take you straight to the village."

"Oh, um, okay. Thank you..."

"Jaemin."

"Right, Jaemin," he clears his throat again and starts marching forward. "Thank you."

They walk together for awhile in quiet, Jisung listening to the sounds of the birds and the rustling leaves in order to not let himself feel too awkward. Jaemin is still holding onto his arm. Of course he's not going to say anything, the other probably needs it considering his eyes are covered. Why? Jisung's too afraid to ask, and he's far too nervous to even try and start a conversation. The faster they get to the village the better.

"So, Jisung," Jaemin's voice once again startles him out of his thoughts and the knights jolts, to which Jaemin chuckles lightly. Jisung feels himself flush a little in embarrassment. "What exactly are you on a mission for?"

"Well, um, apparently there's this creature called a basilisk, living in these woods? My lead knight says its killed some of the townspeople and sent me out to investigate, maybe kill it, if it's real. Which I'm hoping it's not."

"Why?"

"Why?"

He glances down at Jaemin, and shrugs, "I don't want to kill it." Jisung wrinkles his nose at the very thought. "I don't like the thought of killing things."

"Even if it's been killing people?"

"I...I don't know. Maybe there's some way I could reason with it, again, if it is real. I don't have to resort to fighting and stabbing."

"But you're a knight."

Jisung laughs a little at that, the smile on his lips a bit rueful as he looks up to the canopy. For a moment he closes his eyes and an image of his mother flashes behind them, reminding him why he's even here at all.

"I'm just dressed up as a knight, really. I never joined for the swordplay and the glory."

"Why did you join then?"

Normally Jisung doesn't talk this much, or share so much about himself at all. There's just something about Jaemin that makes him want to spill all of his secrets though. Or, at least, the ones that he just chooses to usually omit.

"My mother. She's been sick, um, for the past couple of years. I was hoping that maybe if I got sent out on enough missions I'd come across a doctor or some fantastic cure. If she isn't...if she isn't already dead. I haven't seen her in a year, since I joined the knighthood, and they don't let us send letters past the capital. Our house is all the way in the countryside, next to the mountains in the west. Maybe I'll visit after this, just to see if she's alright. My father too."

"Hm..." Jaemin is quiet for a long moment before he speaks again. "You have a kind heart Park Jisung."

Flushing immediately at the compliment Jisung looks away, even though he can feel Jaemin's head turned in his direction.

"I really don't," he says, searching for some kind of excuse. "I pranked my best friend once."

As if sensing the change in topic Jaemin appears to go along with whatever Jisung is saying, laughing into his hand.

"Oh, really? What did you do?"

"Well..."

Jisung continues the story as they walk to the stream, and once they reach it he says they should take a small break, to rest. He offers Jaemin half of his prepacked meal and before he knows it they're back on their way towards the village. It doesn't take nearly as long as he thinks it will, only about a mile or so down the length of the stream until it widens into a river and they come to the edge of the trees. Just down a small hill rests the village, with smoke coming from a few small houses and a cobblestone path leading to the center where a large well is.

When they enter the actual village limit he's immediately greeted by several citizens, all of which lead him to the elder in town. At the elder's house he asks if there's a doctor, "For Jaemin. I don't want his cuts to get infected."

"Aw, thanks, Jisung." says the presumably blind man, patting Jisung on the shoulder before he's led away to the village doctor's hut, leaving the knight with the elder alone.

"Am I right in assuming you're here about the basilisk?"

"Um, yes, sir."

"They send out a mere boy in our time of need?" Ouch, that stings a little, but Jisung can't really refute him. He thought the same thing when he was given the mission.

"With all due respect, elder, sir, I will do my best."

"Well see that you do, boy knight. As much as I wish they'd sent a troupe here to help us, you'll have to do - if the basilisk doesn't get to you like it has our poor villagers."

Jisung gulps, and nods, "If you wouldn't mind telling me more, sir, about the three deaths."

"Four now."

"Four?"

"Yes, the most recent was one of our farmers, a man by the last name of Choi. Most of the village people are actually happy he's gone."

Jisung frowns a bit, "Happy?"

"Yes, well, there were some rumors going around, that he was being unfaithful to his wife, and unkind to their two children. I'm not sure if those are true are not, but that's what the rest of the villagers are talking about."

The more the elder explains to him the more puzzled Jisung becomes. It seems every person that's died so far has been a man or a woman that did some not-so-nice things. Instead of a basilisk like they're all saying it could just be a murderer? A shiver runs down his spine at the thought. Jisung even thinks he might take the mythical basilisk over a killer.

"One last question. Why do you think it's a basilisk that's been killing the villagers?"

"Easy, my boy. There are no markings or wounds on their bodies when we find them, and their eyes..." he trails off, and Jisung leans forward to prompt him to continue. "They're completely white. Empty."

To say Jisung was scared would be a bit of an understatement. After his meeting with the elder he went to the doctor's hut to visit Jaemin, only to find out that the other had left when the doctor wasn't looking. Jisung was a little sad, considering he quite liked Jaemin's company, but he supposed it would be better this way. If he died tonight while looking for the supposed basilisk then at least Jaemin wouldn't be waiting for him.

Before his trek back into the woods to look for the basilisk's home - _a cave_, said the elder, _you'll know when you see it_ \- the villagers gifted him with new food and trinkets, which he gratefully put into his pack. They even waved him off with a little gathering near the well in the village center, which he felt was wholly unnecessary, but wouldn't say no to. It just felt like a lot considering he was so inexperienced and had no idea what he would actually be doing. That same feeling followed him back out of the village and into the woods once more.

At the edge of the trees he dropped his pack onto the ground and hid it behind a bush, leaving only his sword sheathed at his side and a small dagger hidden in his right calf plate on his person. He really didn't want to fight, but if he had to run it would be easier without all the extra weight.

As the sun sets behind the northern mountains he enters the ever darkening woods in search of the mythical beast.

It's dark, and actually quite scary now that the sun has set completely. If it was dim in the daylight then it was almost pitch black in the night. Jisung could barely see the stars through the leaves, and early on realizes he's made a horrible mistake.

"You should have asked if Chenle could come along," he berates himself, standing in the light of a small clearing if only because the moonlight makes him feel a tiny bit safer. "Why did you accept the solo mission? It makes no sense! You're an idiot, Park Jisung, that's what you are."

Something rustles in the grass behind him and he jumps, a tiny scared noise coming out of him as he scurries to the other side of the small clearing and turns around.

There's nothing.

He holds his breath and looks around, listening for something, and that's when he hears it. A slithering noise through the forest floor. Whatever it is sounds big, and seems to be circling around the clearing where Jisung has stationed himself. What animal could be that big though? And slither instead of crawl or gallop?

_Hissssssss_.

"Basilisk," he whispers to himself at the realization, immediately pulling out his sword and screwing his eyes shut.

"Not an idiot, Jisssssung."

The knight falters for a moment as he hears the voice, head tilting at the familiarity of it. "How do you know my n-name?" he asks, trying to buy some time as his brain attempts to work out where he's heard that voice before. It has to be the basilisk, no doubt about it, but it's speaking with a human tone. Just more breathy like a snake with a slight echo.

He freezes as the slithering gets closer and he feels something brush against his side, startling him into dropping his sword on the ground.

"You know who I am, Jissssung." says the creature as it slowly wraps around him. Not tight at all, more like the ghost of a hug, actually, but Jisung is still afraid nonetheless. The elder had said the rest of the victims had no physical wounds, but maybe the basilisk has changed tactics and plans on crushing him! Oh, the thought makes him wish he'd never taken this mission - or at least been able to say goodbye to his parents one last time. "I'm not going to hurt you." The voice is next to his ear now, quieter than before, and Jisung can just barely manage to say anything in return.

"W-why not? I know you k-killed the other villagers."

"They were rude, horrible people. Ssssswine. I'm ssssure you heard."

"I, uh, I mean, yes, but-"

"I already told you, Jissssung. You have a kind heart." Then it dawns on him. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"...Jaemin?"

The body of the snake wrapped around him rumbles a bit in what Jisung assumes is laughter, and he - stupidly - feels a little safer now.

"You figured it out. Good job, little knight."

"O-Oh. I didn't know you could turn into a human, er...I actually didn't know you were real at all. Sorry, that I came in here to kill you."

"But you didn't, Jisssung."

"I know. I got scared."

"No. You were never going to kill me in the firsssst place. You're too ssssweet for that."

"Oh...I guess. Thank you, for thinking so highly of me."

The basilisk - Jaemin - squeezes around him a little firmer, very much like a hug, and Jisung feels the safest he's been since he even started this journey. He thinks Jaemin moves then, confirmed when he senses the other's face in front of his, and Jisung's eyelashes flutter.

"Don't look."

He keeps his eyes closed.

"I'm going to give you a present, Jisssssung, for helping me earlier. No one else would be so kind to a blind man."

"You're not actually blind, are you?"

Jaemin's rumbling laughter occurs again, "No, but the blindfold helpssss."

"So you don't accidentally kill someone?"

"Yessss. Now, hold your hands up for me." Jisung does as he's told, somehow maneuvering his arms from within Jaemin's hold to bring them up, cupping them together. He feels something cold and smooth drop into them, fingers wrapping loosely around it and realizing it's a small vial. "For your mother," His heart beats in his ears. "My venom is deadly, but when touched by the moonlight it gainsssss a healing power beyond human medicine. Take it, and go to her."

Jisung could almost weep as he holds the gift to his chest, feeling Jaemin start to loosen around him. Before he realizes what he's doing he's reaching out to place a hand against his scales, "Wait!" Jaemin stops, and he can feel the basilisk's eyes on him as he gulps, unshed tears clinging to his lashes. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"You do not need to thank me, Jissssung."

He can't see it, but he can feel as Jaemin leans in close, a forked tongue flicking against Jisung's cheek in an imitation kiss. A blush immediately colors his face.

"I want to."

"Then visit me again, after your mother hassss healed. Your kindnessss is a breath of fressssh air."

"I will." he promises, and when Jaemin has long since slithered off he opens his eyes, squinting against the brightness of the moonlight. Jisung reaches down to pick up his fallen sword and sheaths it. The vial in his hand is made of glass, and the liquid inside is a crystal blue color. He cradles it like his life depends on it and makes up his mind. Tonight he'll return to the village and tell them he didn't find the basilisk. He'll sleep, and in the morning he'll trek back to the castle to take a horse from the stables. With the horse he'll travel home, to his mother and father, and give his mother the cure to her sickness - and when all of that is said and done he'll return to the woods, where a snake with a heart as golden as its eyes is waiting for him.


	13. neon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: NoHyuck (Donghyuck x Jeno)  
Rating: T // Suggestive Themes, Making Out // Warning: Blood Mention  
Summary: Kiss, lick or bite? He goes with the obvious choice.
> 
> \+ Ominous laughter. :^)

Jeno has been sitting in the back of this club for a few hours now, eyes scanning the sea of bodies painted in various shades of neon, illuminated by black lights hanging from the ceiling and placed along the edges of walls. It's dim and colorful at the same time, the pulse of the heavy music rumbling in his bones from where his back rests against his seat.

This isn't where he usually goes to spend his time, but there was just something alluring about the whole concept.

He himself wasn't participating, dressed head to toe in his normal black outfit, devoid of any neon body paint and glow sticks. Jeno didn't even know what song was playing over the speakers, and it wasn't because he couldn't hear it over the bass - he just didn't know, period.

"What's a guy like you doing back here all by yourself?"

Looking away from the dance floor at the interruption he finds himself face to face with one of those bright party-goers, a boy with soft orange hair, streaks of green and purple swiped over his cheeks, chin and forehead. He's wearing a sequin crop top that cuts off just above his stomach and swishes every time he so much as breathes. Jeno thinks he knows why the other has approached him, hunching his shoulders a bit.

"Don't dance," he mumbles, and the boy leans closer to hear him. Jeno can feel his breath against his cheek and it smells like fruit and mint.

"Haechan!"

From the crowd a voice yells, and the boy looks away from him so Jeno's eyes follow suit. At the edge of all the people stand a couple more males waving at the neon boy - _Haechan_ \- before they disappear back into the crowd. Now Haechan is focusing solely on Jeno.

"Listen," he says, placing his hands on the table Jeno is sitting at. "You're hot. Like, super hot, in that brooding vampire romance novel kinda way." Jeno laughs at this, unwinding a bit in his seat.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really," Haechan grins at him lopsidedly, looks like he's almost going to lose his balance before steadying himself, and throws a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the bathrooms. "So, what do you say we get more well-acquain, acquint - we get to know each other better."

Jeno pretends to think for a moment, just because he can, and then, "Sure."

He lets Haechan take his hand and tug him out of the booth, following the boy towards the hall leading to the restrooms. It's just as dark as the club with a single flickering light at the top. The walls are painted black and covered in various stickers and graffiti.

The door to the men's bathroom squeaks as Haechan shoves it open, seemingly impatient as he pulls Jeno into the second stall at the very end.

"This one actually locks," he says to Jeno, as if to explain his reasoning.

"Okay."

This whole time Jeno has just led Haechan lead the way, and it's worked so far, so he let's Haechan keep doing it. The boy lets go of his wrist and places both hands on Jeno's shoulders, running them over his arms hidden by a dark leather jacket. He grins when the boy visibly swallows.

"You said you wanted to get to know me?" he asks, prompting the boy to come out of his daze and nod, still tipsy in that _I don't remember how many drinks I've had tonight_ way.

"Yeah, just, _wow_ \- I know I said you were hot before, but you're like, _hot_-hot."

That's not really true. Jeno is cold to the touch, but he supposes in a purely visual sense he can accept Haechan's compliments. Maybe the other is too drunk to realize Jeno hasn't flushed once at the praise.

"You're not bad yourself," Jeno replies, bringing one hand up to cup Haechan's cheek, swiping a finger over the dried paint that's just plain green in the harsh bathroom lights. He really is cute, in a bumbling pet sort of way.

"As much as I love being told things I already know," _Ooh, confident_. Haechan grabs him by the lapels of his jacket and pulls him forward, Jeno steadying himself by placing his hands on the boys hips. He can feel the warm skin of the sides of his stomach beneath his palms. "I'm going to kiss you now. Kind of wanted to do this all night."

"All night?"

And then Haechan's lips are pressed against his. They're warm and insistent, a tongue immediately swiping along the seam of Jeno's mouth, to which he opens up easily. Haechan licks into him like a starved man, clutching at Jeno's black t-shirt and tilting his head some. He fumbles for a moment, lips sliding against Jeno's, his top lip catching on Jeno's bottom before he's coming back to close the connection again.

Jeno missed this. The warmth of someone else. His hands grip Haechan's hips a little firmer to hold him in place as he presses him against the side of the stall.

When he pulls back Haechan's lips are red and wet, a little puffy from when he'd spent a moment sucking on the boy's lip between his teeth. He looks him in the eyes and smiles, leaning down to start placing kisses on the boy's jaw, and eventually his neck. At some point Haechan's arms have wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him impossibly close until their chests are touching, legs tangled.

"So warm," Jeno mouths against the side of his neck, relishing in the heat of Haechan's skin.

The pulse of his jugular is felt through his lips, and Jeno smirks.

What happens next takes only a split second. His fangs push out, _hungry_, his eyes glowing a bright dangerous red before he sinks his teeth into Haechan's neck. The boy gasps, his grip around Jeno's shoulders going tight with the pain as he tries to get away from it, but Jeno is strong. He holds him in place, an audible groan rumbling in his throat at the first taste of blood.

God, it's been so long.

When Haechan goes pliant for him Jeno drinks as much as he wants, some of the blood escaping and dripping down his chin and onto the boy's silver shirt. It feels like forever that he feeds, until he pulls back and starts licking at the puncture wounds for any stray drops.

Haechan is limp in his arms.

He's not dead, but his pulse is faint and he's definitely passed out. Jeno lowers him to the floor, licking the blood off his lips as he does so.

In the morning - or whenever Haechan wakes up - he won't remember what happened. Maybe he'll think back to a flash of dark hair and red eyes, but the memories will always be out of reach. Jeno, on the other hand, won't forget about the neon boy any time soon as he leaves the club that night, sated, for now.


	14. comfort object

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: NoHyuckMin (Jeno x Jaemin x Donghyuck)  
Rating: M // Warning: Gore, Blood, Major Character Death  
Summary: I saved them. I saved them. I saved them. I saved them I savedthemIsavedthemIsavedthem.
> 
> \+ This is kind of a non-liner narrative mess inspired by Jennifer's Body but nothing like it...that's about all I have to say. w h e ez e Again, heed the warnings because there is some vague descriptions of wounds / injuries and horrible events in this.

_"He needs oxygen!"_

His ears are ringing.

_"Is anyone else in the building?"_

There's something wet on his side, painful. A stab wound?

_"Two other boys. They didn't make it."_

Everything hurts, hurts, hurts.

Blinding lights, blazing fire, false smiles.

_"Jeno."_

Their eyes are are gone, replaced by empty black holes that threaten to suck him in. When they open their mouths it's the same, jaws stretching and cracking as if to swallow him whole.

_"Jeno."_

One way to kill them. One way to save himself.

Jeno lights the fuse.

"Jeno!"

Jeno's eyes open impossibly wide, and the flames of his nightmarish memories back away as they're replaced by cold white walls. He's laying on his side, a hard pillow beneath his head. The doctor is sitting next to his bed.

"Jeno," the man's voice swims in his mind as Jeno tries to remember where he is. Ah, right, the asylum. "Jeno, can you hear me?"

"Yes," he croaks, voice cracked and dry. His mouth feels like a desert, and he _should_ reach out for the paper cup of water held out to him, but he can't bring himself to move. Jeno curls tighter around the soft, baby blue blanket he's clutching between his fingers. Blue like water, putting out the fire.

"Alright, Jeno," When the doctor speaks again Jeno's eyes look up to his face, still wide as can be. "Do you feel like telling me today?"

Jeno knows what he's asking about.

He doesn't know what he feels.

Doesn't even know what to think.

"They were trying to kill me," he whispers, thinking back to that night, the week leading up to it, the torturous months of keeping quiet and covering up.

_ "Jeno, are you alright? Do you need to see the school nurse?" The entire classroom looks at him, but Jeno isn't paying attention. He's starting at the left wall and not moving. Can't they see it? Can't they see the horrible face, twisting in the bricks and paint?_

_ Someone puts a hand on his shoulder and the face in the wall laughs._

_ Jeno elbows the person standing next to them, and when they double over he stands, his chair screeching behind him and almost tipping over. He takes it and raises it above his head._

_ "Go away!"_

_ He throws the chair and it hits the wall with a loud thunk, one of the legs denting a small hole in it. The students around him to start to scramble away, but Jeno isn't paying attention to them, watching as the face distorts and only gets bigger. He drops to the floor, cradling his head. "Leave me alone. Please, leave me alone."_

"Jeno, do you believe in demons?"

He shakes his head, swallows thickly even though it scratches his throat and burns, "I know they're real."

_ "Jeno!"_

_ Jumping in surprise as Jaemin drapes himself over his back Jeno looks at him, really looks at him, and his brow furrows. Jaemin notices and blinks._

_ "What's wrong?"_

_ Jeno thinks back to his dream last night, the one where Jaemin had black eyes and was scooping out Jeno's intestines like soup. He'd been covered in blood - Jeno's blood - up to his elbows and dripping down his neck, smiling with stained teeth at Jeno's dead body._

_ The Jaemin in front of him doesn't look anything like that, but the dream had felt so real..._

_ "You're kinda freaking me out, dude. Did something happen?"_

_ No, Jaemin would never do anything like that. He's Jeno's best friend! Jeno tries to push away the dream as best as he can and shakes his head, smiling._

_ "I'm fine. Just got distracted."_

"How do you know they're real, Jeno?"

He presses his face further into the pillow, until he can barely breathe, pulling the blanket up to his chin.

_"A demon summoning ritual? Do you actually think this is real, Donghyuck?" Jeno asks with a raised brow, the boy in question vibrating excitedly beside him. He's always been into some pretty weird stuff, but the thing he's talking about now involves actual human blood...and goat fur._

_ "I don't know! It'd be fun though, wouldn't it? We can do it on Halloween, just for a little scare. Right, Jaemin?"_

_ Donghyuck slaps the other boy on the arm to get his attention, and the youngest of the three just nods and shrugs, "Sure, sounds like fun to me."_

_ Jeno isn't as superstitious as the two boys in front of him. In fact, he's never really believed in demons or magic or the supernatural since he was a child and was scared of the boogeyman crawling under his bed. They really have nothing to lose just to light a few candles and call it a night._

_ "Alright, but I'm not the one getting pricked for this shit. You'll have to do that on your own."_

"So you three did the ritual?"

He nods.

"And what happened after that?"

Jeno thinks, long and hard. The changes were gradual, barely noticeable until everything really started to fall apart.

"They were dead."

_The thing walking around with Jaemin's face is not his best friend, just like the thing walking around with Donghyuck's face isn't either. Jeno didn't realize until it was too late. By then the visions and nightmares had become so frequent he wasn't even able to go to school, too terrified to leave the safety of his bedroom. Of seeing _**them**_._

_ Jaemin and Donghyuck - or, the things inside them - invaded his dreams like ink, spilling and staining every corner of his mind._

_ In his nightmares Jeno is forced to watch as they slaughter his family and then him. He watches as they eat his heart like starved animals, listening to the squelch of flesh and grinding of teeth. They suck on his ribs and break the bones in his fingers, biting until red sores pucker the marks and drawing symbols on his skin with his own blood._

_ When they laugh it sounds like knifes dragging against granite._

_ "Come on, Jeno, let us in."_

_ "Yeah, we only want to help you."_

_ They tease and taunt him, pretending to be kind. When he's awake and they knock on his door he pretends to be asleep, wishes he wasn't so cowardly so he could protect his mother who tells them to come back another time. _Don't tell them to come back_, he thinks._

_ Finally, one morning Jeno wakes up with the goal to end it all._

"So you murdered them?"

Jeno shakes his head vehemently, and the doctor rephrases.

"You...ended them?"

"Yes."

_Donghyuck's house is empty when he gets to it. The front door is unlocked and Jeno lets himself in, the bags in his hands weighing him down. Bullets full of gun powder, hardware store nails, cans of aerosol spray. He places them in the kitchen and goes out back to where he knows Donghyuck's father keeps his gasoline cans. Jeno takes two out of the three and brings them back inside, unscrewing the cap on one and starting to pour it out onto the floor. He walks all through the first level of the house, soaking the carpet and spilling gasoline over the hardwood, and once he runs out he takes the second can and continues, until he reaches the living room._

_ Once that's done he grabs the bags and starts dumping them out. He can't waste any time. He knows that someone must have told those **things** where he was, and where he was heading. Jeno has to be ready for when they come to find him._

_ Boxes upon boxes of ammunition are strewn about, a pile of bullets sitting in front of him and gleaming when Jeno hears the door open. He breathes in, practically choking on the stench of fuel, and breathes out when he hears the wood creak. As if to signal his presence he dumps the nails into the pile while tossing the cans around the living room, and he waits._

_ The footsteps get closer._

_ "Jeno?" The voice is amused, not matching the expression Jaemin's face is making as Jeno backs himself against the wall. Donghyuck's body stands next to Jaemin, frowning just the same._

_ "What are you doing here? What did you do?" That's Donghyuck's voice, but when it filters through Jeno's ears it sounds wrong._

_ He feels like they're playing with him._

_ "Get out of my friends," he says, trying to say it strong, and failing when his voice cracks halfway._

_ "Jeno, what are you-"_

_ "Get out!" he yells, and he can't bring himself to look at them, fearing what ghastly visages they might turn on him. Jeno holds his hand up to reveal a lighter, flicking it open and sparking the flame. "Get out of them."_

_ Instead of talking one of them steps forward - Jeno doesn't know which - and when he looks up he sees what he feared. Empty holes for eyes and a mouth on both of them, twisted broken limbs and evil auras. _They're too far gone_, his mind supplies, and when it looks like one of them will charge at him Jeno does what he threatened._

_ He drops the lighter in the gasoline, and the flames crawl throughout the entire floor of the house. It's a blaze that steals his breath, burns him, scorching, and he barely manages to get out of the living room in time when the bullets on the floor start exploding with the heat, sending casings and nails shooting through the air, impaling into walls and the bodies of his friends who he knows have been gone since that stupid ritual._

_ Jeno barely makes it out of the house alive, choking on smoke and feeling the fire licking at his heels. He doesn't run to escape the flames. He runs to escape the monsters, fearing that they might still be following him._

_ That's how the paramedics and police find him, laying on the concrete sidewalk in front of a blazing family home. He's delirious, terrified, in shock -_

_ "He needs oxygen!"_

_ They strap a mask to his face, and someone tells him to breathe._

_ "Is anyone else in the building?"_

_ With blurry vision he sees a large red stain seeping through his t-shirt. Ah, one of the nails must have got him before he turned the corner. How did he not feel that?_

_ "Two other boys. They didn't make it."_

_ They tell him he killed two innocent lives, but Jeno knows the truth._

_ He saved their bodies from the demons inside._

"So you admit to murdering Na Jaemin and Lee Donghyuck?"

Jeno shakes his head again, appearing agitated for the first time since the start of this interview.

"I saved them."

"No," the doctor is frowning now, and Jeno can see it with one eye. "You murdered your supposed best friends, Jeno. You meticulously crafted a plan to burn them alive, along with," he flips a page on his clipboard. "Impaling them with bullet shards and nails."

Jeno shakes his head more, closing his eyes.

"You're a murderer, Jeno."

_No, no, no, no, no_, he keeps muttering under his breath as the doctor tries to speak over them.

"Just admit that you killed them, Jeno. Tell us the truth."

"I am telling the truth!" he screams, lunging unexpectedly at the man and losing his grip on his blanket, reaching out for the doctor's throat. He almost gets his hands wrapped around it before the man has backed far away enough. Jeno can't move any farther with the cuff around his ankle, chaining him to the bed. "I saved them! I saved my friends!" He swallows and spits on the man's face.

Two guards rush into the room and grab him by the arms, hauling him off the floor. He tries to kick at them but they're too strong.

"I saved them! I saved them! I saved them!"

He stills in their grip, staring at the ground. The grout is stained, and the more he looks at it the more a face starts to appear in the tiles. "No, no, no!" he thrashes, crying out as the face gets bigger, watching him with those empty eyes. _It's back, it's back, it's back - **that horrible monster is back**_.

"Help me!"

The guards shove him onto the bed and hold him there while the doctor gets a syringe ready. Jeno is still kicking his legs, trying to get away from the face. Tears are streaming down his cheeks.

"Save me! Oh, God, it's here, it's here. Get it out!"

Something pricks him in the arm and immediately he feels woozy. The face is in the ceiling now, lowering towards him, and Jeno can't move.

"Save me."


	15. film

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: NoMin (Jaemin x Jeno)  
Rating: G  
Summary: When he was fifteen years old Jaemin fell in love with the man from the movie.
> 
> \+ This was just something cute because I definitely needed it after that last chapter. ksdfhksh Hope you like it!

When he was fifteen years old Jaemin fell in love with the man from the movie. The movie being an epic gay romance he found on Netflix and the man being the supporting character who, unfortunately, didn't get the happy ending he so rightfully deserved.

"Ew, are you crying over Jeno again?"

The door to his bedroom slams shut from where his best friend Donghyuck had opened it seconds before. Once he saw Jaemin sniffling, wrapped up in his blanket and watching The Movie on his laptop he decided he didn't want to look at him any longer than he had to. This is well over the hundredth time he's seen Jaemin in such a state, and over a fictional character.

"Shut up, Hyuck!" he yells while throwing a used tissue at the door, but his voice comes out more garbled and watery as Jeno cries on screen.

"It's at the part where he starts crying, isn't it? Jeez, you'd think after watching it a thousand and one times you wouldn't cry like a little baby still."

"But Hyuuuuck," he whines as his friend opens the door again and comes inside, flicking on the light. Jaemin is a pathetic blob of blankets and pillows, only his head and some of his pink hair peeking out from under the covers. More tears slide down his cheeks when the scene in the movie shifts to Jeno at his best friend's wedding, smiling even though he's sad. "He deserves to be with his best friend, but Renjun gets married t-to Mark and Jeno is _heartbroken_ and _alone_ and-"

"He deserves someone who will love him back, like you, yada yada yada, is it almost over?" Donghyuck flops down onto the bed, Jaemin's laptop bouncing with him before ending up a little lopsided. "You promised we'd play games together, but here you are, like always, crying over a made-up character."

"Jeno is more than a character!" Jaemin gasps, affronted, but his eyes don't leave the screen. He slaps Donghyuck on the arm a couple of times to get him to shut up. "Shh, it's my favorite part."

"Every scene with Jeno is your favorite part." Donghyuck mutters, but goes quiet anyways.

Jaemin is enraptured as the movie draws to a close, and one of the most important scenes plays. Jeno and Renjun are standing together alone, and Jeno is still smiling even though Jaemin knows it must be hard. His first love that he's been pining over for years is standing right in front of him, but he won't say anything because of the ring on his finger. They talk for a bit, Jeno congratulates him, and says he hopes the other will be happy for the rest of his life. Jaemin sniffles and blows his nose into another tissue because it hurts - Jeno really means it, and it hurts that he can't be as happy as everyone else is.

"How much lo-"

Jaemin shoves his finger over Donghyuck's lips, shushing him again. Now the last minute or two of the movie is playing, panning out over the dance floor of the wedding reception, showing the happy married couple and their family. In the last few moments it shows Jeno sitting alone at the bar, not drinking or eating, just sitting. A voice from off screen calls his name and he looks over, eyes gazing just past the camera angle, and he smiles. The credits start rolling.

"Oh, gross! You're getting snot everywhere," Donghyuck rolls away to the other end of the bed while Jaemin grabs a handful of tissues, blowing his nose and crying even more than he was earlier. "You know what? I'm gonna set everything up downstairs and wait for you, okay? Take care of," he gestures to all of Jaemin. "That, and come down when you're ready to play."

Even though Jaemin sticks his tongue out at the other boy when he leaves he is grateful to be left alone for a few minutes, stewing in his feelings for Jeno. _A movie character_ reiterates the Donghyuck-like voice in his head, and he smiles at how silly it is. He knows Jeno isn't real. The movie came out ages ago, and it's so obscure there aren't any names attached to the film of the real life people who worked on it. Jaemin never bothered trying to find Jeno's actor anyways because he'd be much older now - it would ruin the magic.

When the credits come to an end and his laptop dings, Jaemin starts to pull himself out of his stupor finally. He dumps his tissues into the trash can by his bed and crawls out of his blanket cocoon. Running his fingers through his hair he places his laptop on his desk and leaves the room to join Donghyuck.

"Finally! I thought you'd never come out of your cave."

"Shut up."

Jaemin drops himself to the floor and shoves Donghyuck with his shoulder, already grabbing one of the console controllers.

"What are we playing?"

"Mario Kart."

"Ugh, but you always win!"

"That's the point. Duh."

Donghyuck starts the game when Jaemin isn't paying attention, elbow deep into a bag of Cheetos before he realizes everyone else has started racing. He screeches about how unfair the other boy is and slaps his controller out of his hand to buy himself a couple seconds to catch up. It doesn't work since Donghyuck still wins the first race, but Jaemin will be damned if he quits now.

Somewhere in between Donghyuck yelling at the TV screen, losing to the rainbow-haired boy yet again and managing to spill the popcorn twice, Jaemin had dozed off. 

He dreams.

Jaemin looks around the reception a bit before his eyes come across a lone figure at the bar. Something in him says _move, go to him,_ and so he does.

"Jeno." he says, and his voice sounds different - it sounds like him, but older, a little more mature. That makes sense. Real life Jaemin is only nineteen, but Jeno in the movie is somewhere around the age of 26 making dream Jaemin...somewhere close to that. The figure turns around and sure enough, it's Jeno, offering him that trademark smile that makes Jaemin's heart flutter every time. "What are you doing back here by yourself? Shouldn't you be dancing?"

He sits next to Jeno at the bar, holding a glass of what appears to be some type of alcohol. It doesn't burn when he drinks it. Must be some weird dream power.

"You know I'm not much of a dancer, Jaemin." Oh, they know each other - and that realization has Jaemin remembering: him and Jeno are friends in this dream, not as close as Jeno is with Renjun, but on their way there.

"It's a wedding reception, Jeno! You can't just sit here the whole time." He grins and places his glass on the bar top, taking Jeno by the arm and tugging him out of his seat. Ignoring the other's protests he pulls him out onto the dance floor. "Just one dance. For me?" They stop just in time to avoid running into another dancing pair, and Jaemin faces the other with his best pout. Jeno gives in, like he always does.

"Fine," he rolls his eyes too, but Jaemin considers it a win. "Just one dance though. I don't trust my two left feet."

"Just one." Jaemin agrees, slipping his hand into Jeno's as the song changes, and just like a movie it's the perfect song to slow dance to.

In the center of all those other dancing couples Jaemin lays his head on Jeno's shoulder, breathes in the smell of his cologne and feels his heart expand. He doesn't have to look up to notice Jeno's head sometimes turning in the direction of the two grooms. Jaemin leans up to whisper, to distract, "Hey, Jeno." The other hums. "I know it hurts," He locks up for a moment in Jaemin's arms, but the younger pulls him into another lazy circle and he slowly relaxes again. "But it'll get better. I promise."

The song ends and he brings his head up to look Jeno in the eyes. They're so sad he might weep with how much he just wants to hold him and care for him. Jeno manages to smile and nod.

"Okay, Nana," he uses Jaemin's nickname. "Thank you."

After that Jaemin finds himself walking down the street with Jeno in the winter time. That's kind of how dreams work, really. Time is strange and you just accept the things that are happening, like Jeno pulling Jaemin by the arm to peer through a bakery shop window.

"Look," he says excitedly, pointing to the cupcakes with cat faces on them. Jaemin chuckles and asks, "Should we get some?"

Jeno nods and they enter the shop, Jaemin relishing in the warmth inside. They decide to stay for awhile, Jaemin finding them a table as Jeno orders the cupcakes and some coffee. When he comes back Jaemin has snagged them a table next to the window they were looking into just minutes ago. It gives a perfect view of the street outside.

Sipping his coffee in the comfortable silence Jaemin interrupts it by saying, "Kind of romantic, isn't it?"

Jeno chokes on his muffin across from him and Jaemin jumps, reaching over with some napkins as the older coughs. When he's done they both laugh. Jaemin notices the red coloring Jeno's cheeks but doesn't say anything about it. Before Jeno can ask he continues.

"I mean the atmosphere. A cozy cafe, snow falling outside. Very...romance novel, you know?"

"Hm, yeah, I can see where you're coming from."

They fall quiet again.

Jaemin is digging into his own cupcake when Jeno begins to ask, "Hey, do you think-"

The dream changes scenes again before he can finish his sentence. It's summer now, the hot sand between his toes as Jaemin sits in a lawn chair on the beach. Through his sunglasses he watches Jeno in the water, swimming lazily. He's not sure how he knows it, but it's been three years since The Wedding now.

"Hey, knucklehead!" Jaemin calls playfully, and when Jeno looks up Jaemin is waving a bottle of sunscreen in his hand. After a minute or so Jeno is standing next to his chair, dripping on the sand. "You don't want to get burned, do you?" Jaemin asks, handing him a towel along with the sunscreen. Jeno just shrugs and sits down on the blanket they put down, starting to towel off so he can reapply. Again they enter that comfortable silence, interrupted only when Jaemin feels the side of the bottle tapping his ankle.

"Do my back?" Jeno asks, looking up at him through dark lashes, and Jaemin nods. You'd think that for having as much affection as he does for Jeno he'd be blushing like a schoolgirl now, kneeling on the blanket behind Jeno, but they're close enough that this is normal.

He laughs when Jeno jumps at the cold sunscreen, smoothing it into his skin.

"Be grateful I'm doing this for you," Jaemin comments, capping the sunscreen as he finishes rubbing it into Jeno's lower back. His hands slide up to make sure he hasn't missed any, palms resting on the older's shoulders. Jeno turns around suddenly, and their faces are close. Really close.

For a moment Jaemin swears he sees Jeno's eyes dart down to his lips before coming back up.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

He doesn't really need to say it out loud considering Jeno was already halfway back to the water at that point, but Jaemin is feeling dizzy from the sun and wonders if he's been burnt or if the flush that's no doubt in his face is because of Jeno himself.

Jaemin goes to sit back in his chair, and when he opens his eyes sunlight streams in through the bedroom window. It's late morning. What season? He isn't sure.

"Hey, babe."

An arm wraps around his waist and pulls him into someone's chest, and in the corner of his eye he sees Jeno hook his chin over his shoulder. Jaemin smiles and rolls around to face him. He brings a hand up to cup Jeno's cheek as he opens one eye to look at the younger, smiling as well.

"Morning, baby."

Jaemin pecks him briefly on the lips before snuggling into Jeno's arms. He doesn't want to leave the bed yet, and they lay together for what feels like forever.

"Are you better now?" Jaemin asks quietly, keeping his face buried in Jeno's neck. He can feel Jeno's lips smiling into the crown of his head. The older hums thoughtfully and nods.

"I have been for a long time, Jaemin," he says, whispering into his hair. "All because of yo-"

"WAKE UP LOSER!"

Jaemin scrambles up from the living room floor, orange cheeto dust stuck to his cheek and drool on the corner of his mouth. He is Na Jaemin, nineteen years old and definitely not in a loving an committed relationship with the man of his dreams. Literally the man of his dreams. He immediately groans and takes a pillow from the couch to smack Donghyuck.

"Hey!"

"You." _Smack._ "Woke." _Smack_. "Me." _S m a c k_. "Up. At. The. Best. Part!"

Donghyuck shoves a hand against Jaemin's face to try and get him to stop, and the younger breathes heavily before dropping the pillow and crossing his arms, pouting intensely. Donghyuck rolls his eyes at the boy's antics and kicks him in the thigh.

"Stop being a big baby. I can't believe you fell asleep while we were playing games - again!"

"Not my fault you're so boring." Jaemin grumbles, to which Donghyuck tackles him onto the floor in retaliation. As they roll around and fight Jaemin thinks to himself - he'll just have to see Jeno is his dreams again tonight.

Or at least watch The Movie again for the one thousand and second time.


	16. soulbond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: NoRen (Renjun x Jeno)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Jeno talks to his soulmate everyday, and he still doesn't know his name.
> 
> \+ Vague fic is vague. I'm sorry. askdjfhksdjh

'Hey, what's the quadratic formula again? Negati-'

'Are you really asking me this? Through our soulbond? I can't believe you.'

Jeno pouts in his desk chair, crossing his arms even though his soulmate can't see the action. He can probably hear it in his mind voice though.

'What? I have a smart soulmate, but I'm not allowed to ask him for help?'

The other stays quiet for a moment and Jeno sighs, 'I was kidding, by the way. I know what the quadratic formula is.'

'Then why did you ask?'

_I just wanted to hear your voice_, he thinks to himself, making sure not to let that thought slip through their connection. Jeno is grateful that he can pick and choose what he says to his soulmate like he would in any verbal conversation. It certainly helps to filter out all the stupid things he could think to scare him off by accident.

'Just because. What are you doing right now?'

'Well, before I was so rudely interrupted...I was painting.'

Jeno blinks and sits up a little straighter at that. He's never heard his soulmate talk about painting before, much less the arts. In fact, the image of his soulmate that Jeno has in his head is very much a student council president, no shit taken kind of guy.

'What are you painting?'

Again the other stays quiet, and Jeno gets fidgety in his seat, adjusting his glasses.

'I mean, if you don't mind me asking. Sorry if it's like personal or something-'

'It's fine, just...give me a second.'

'Okay.'

It's quiet for a few moments, and Jeno goes back to his algebra homework to pass the time. He wonders if maybe he scared his soulmate off for the night when he hears him in his head again.

'Are you still there?'

'Yeah.'

'Okay, so...I was painting you.'

_Me?_ 'But we've never-'

'I know, I mean...I was painting what you make me feel like when we talk. It's colors and shapes, not a face.'

_ I wish I could see your face_.

'Oh, wow...what, uh- what colors?'

His soulmate hums in his head and Jeno wishes he was in the same room as him. Wishes he could see what he looks like, what his art looks like. Just to _be_ with him, and not in some other part of the world.

'Lots of gold. Royal blue, violet, some red.'

'Do those colors mean anything?'

Pause.

'I'll tell you about them, someday.'

'Someday.'

_Tell me now,_ Jeno thinks, _please_. Instead he asks, 'Will we ever meet, someday?' _Will you ever tell me your name? Let me tell you mine?_

'Someday.'

It's quiet again, and when Jeno returns back to his math problems he doesn't hear his soulmate's voice for the rest of the night. He can't focus and gives up halfway through the thirteenth problem, deciding to just go to bed. Wrapped in the covers with the lights off, his glasses placed on his nightstand, he closes his eyes.

'Good night,' he thinks to the other, if he's even listening at all.

On the other side of the globe Huang Renjun sits at his easel and cries.


	17. monkey's paw

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: HyuckHei (Donghyuck x Lucas)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Yukhei just wants to cuddle with his magic boyfriend.
> 
> \+ Me writing witch!Donghyuck again? More likely than you think!

"Don't touch that!"

Donghyuck wacks him on the back of the hand with his whisk, causing Yukhei to yelp and bring his hand to his chest. He pouts at the younger who grumbles and returns to mixing his potion.

"What is it?" Yukhei asks, eyes drawn back to the object he was trying to grab.

It's some kind of animal foot placed on a little stand, with a chain attached to it like you're supposed to hang it from your keys. For all he knows it could just be a weird looking rabbit's foot. You know, for good luck. Only the young witch probably wouldn't have gotten after him if it was just a lucky charm.

"A monkey's foot."

"Oh, ew, that came from a monkey?"

"Yes, now pass me the dried lavender." he orders, and Yukhei stands closer to him at his workbench to hand him the ingredient. "It's supposed to grant wishes-"

"That's so cool!"

"But, those wishes come with a terrible price."

"Oh, come on. If it grants wishes it can't be that bad." Yukhei reaches for the paw again, and Donghyuck smacks him on the arm - again.

"I said don't touch it." he hisses. "And it is horrible. The price for making a wish on it can result in bad things, like injury, plague, famine - _death_."

"Oh, hm...yeah, that doesn't sound that good."

Yukhei decides to leave the thing be, getting comfortable on his wooden stool next to Donghyuck. He lays his head gently on the younger's shoulder - at least, for a few seconds, until Donghyuck is nudging him away to reach for a few seed pods. Yukhei pouts again and crosses his arms.

"How long until you're done?"

"Just a few more minutes, you big baby." _Hey!_ "Then I promise we can do something you like."

Yukhei visibly brightens, sitting up straighter, "Like cuddling?"

"Yes, like cuddling."

Monkey's paw all but forgotten Yukhei let's out a victorious noise and scrambles up from his chair. He's halfway to the door before running back to place a wet kiss on the witch's cheek, ignoring his mean words as he jogs out of the room to set everything up. By the time Donghyuck has come out Yukhei has piles of blankets and pillows on the couch, and the television playing his favorite movie.

He wiggles under the blankets, staring at Donghyuck with only his eyes visible. The younger groans and rolls his eyes but Yukhei can see he's not that annoyed by it. He lets Donghyuck slip his way into the covers until they're pressed against each other, and Yukhei starts the movie.

"Thanks, baby." he whispers halfway through the film, and Donghyuck slaps him weakly against the chest.

"Don't call me baby...and you're welcome."


	18. journey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: NoSung (Jeno x Jisung)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Jisung's day has turned into a horrible knock off of _Honey, I Shrunk the Kids_ but at least Jeno is there with him.
> 
> \+ I have no idea what this is but I kinda like it. Hope you enjoy!

"I didn't," _Wheeze_. "Think it would," _Huff_. "Take this long to get, to my dresser."

Jisung face plants on his glasses cleaning cloth and _wow_ he never realized it was this soft. Maybe he can take a nap and when he wakes up they'll be back to normal and-

"Jisung-ah." Jeno pokes him in the side and he opens one eye, looking up at the older who's frowning down at him. At least Jisung isn't alone in this. If he had to make the journey from his bedroom floor to the top of his dresser by himself he probably would have cried. He also would have been too embarrassed to ask for help, considering he was now three inches tall.

And his bedroom door was locked when they got shrunk to the size of dolls.

"Hyung, I don't think I can go any farther."

"It's literally right there, Jisung."

_It_ being the magic _thing_ Jisung had accidentally take from Chenle when they were studying the day before. He'd spilled his pencils when packing up and accidentally grabbed the object while shoving his supplies into his back. If he hadn't been in such a rush maybe he would have noticed that it was glowing the whole time. When he came home last night he promptly went straight to sleep, and didn't wake up until he heard Jeno knocking on his bedroom window.

Jeno had been laying on Jisung's bed as he prepared to do his homework when he found the object in his bag. It looked just like a small crystal, the ones that decorated every shelf in Chenle's bedroom, so Jisung knew he must have gotten it from there. This one was strange though. It had a couple strange markings and when he held it up to the sunlight it sparkled a lot.

"Jeno hyung, look at this." he said, placing the crystal on top of his dresser and motioning for the older to stand up.

"Look at what, Jisung? Aren't you supposed to be studying right now?"

"I will, just," The crystal starts glowing. "Look."

Jeno groans, but complies nonetheless. He rolls off Jisung's bed into a standing position and comes to stand next the younger, frowning a bit when he sees the crystal.

"What's that?"

"I don't know. I think I took it from Chenle by accident."

"Your feel-the-vibrations-in-the-crystals friend?"

Jisung purses his lips at the remark, but nods anyways. The crystal glows brighter and he takes a step back, bumping into Jeno who was standing half behind him.

"It's doing something weird. I think we should-"

He wasn't able to finish his sentence as the crystal started to glow so intensely he had to cover his eyes. Somewhere next to him Jeno shouts, but Jisung is so dizzy he thinks he faints. When he woke up they were both tiny, leading to where they are now, trying to see if the crystal will put them back to normal.

"Come on then." Jeno grabs Jisung by the arm and starts hauling him off the cleaning cloth, which makes Jisung think he's glad his glasses shrunk with the rest of him.

"What do we do now?" Jisung asks as they stand in front of the crystal object. Just an hour ago it was so small in his hand, and now it's half the size of his body. He looks over at Jeno who shrugs.

"Touch it I guess?"

"What if we get smaller though?" Jisung squeaks. "Or it flings us off the desk? Or we pass out again? Or-"

"Jisung!"

Jeno is in front of him now, cupping the younger boy's cheeks as he falls quiet. Then he breathes in and out deeply before poking Jisung in the center of the forehead.

"We don't have to touch it then. Obviously we don't know what will happen. You said you accidentally took it from your friend's house, right?" Jisung nods dumbly. "Then let's just call him."

"My phone is on my desk though..."

"Mine's on your bed. Do you have his number memorized?" Jisung nods again, and for the first time since he came into his room Jeno smiles, just a little bit.

"Okay, let's go back to the bed then and call him. He should know to do hopefully."

So that's what they do. Somehow, miraculously, climbing down the charging cord that leads from Jisung's dresser to his bed, they're back on his pillows. Jeno's phone is laying face down on one of them, and it takes both boys lifting it up to flip it over. Jeno presses the button on the side and it unlocks.

"You don't have a password?" Jisung asks with a confused frown, and the older boy shrugs.

"Not around people enough to need one."

Cryptic as always. Jisung just nods and doesn't say anything more about it, watching as Jeno stands on his own phone and leans over to swipe through and select the call app. It's just so weird to see such a thing. The phone is bigger than the both of them if they were standing side by side.

"Okay, try to call him now."

Jeno says, startling Jisung when the younger realizes he's standing next to him.

When the older laughs he just pouts and stomps over to the phone. Or he tries to, because you can't really stomp angrily on a pillow. He almost falls over before balancing himself on the device, glad he's wearing shoes (that also shrunk!). Like a game of twister he manages to type Chenle's phone number.

"Should I put him on speaker?" he asks.

"Sure."

He presses the speaker button.

"Hello?" Chenle's voice is so loud it startles Jisung into tripping backwards, falling off the phone. He closes his eyes and expects to land on the pillow - not in Jeno's arms. The older holds him close as Chenle keeps talking through the speaker. "Who is this?"

"Chenle!" he yells.

There's a few beats of silence and then, "Jisung? Why are you calling from...who's phone is this?"

He turns his head to look at Jeno just as he's about to answer but the older suddenly shakes his head. Jisung's brows knit together and he questions the action in his head, but doesn't say anything. Clearing his throat he responds to Chenle.

"Uh, one of my classmate's phones. Listen, something happened. I accidentally took one of your crystals-"

"You what!?"

The other's voice screeches over the line and both Jeno and Jisung wince, Jisung feeling the older's arms circle tighter around his waist. Having tiny ears _sucks_.

"Shh! Chenle, not so loud."

"Which one?"

"What?"

"Which one did you take?"

"It was an accident! And, uh, I don't know, some purple one? It had these gold markings on it and, anyways, um, me and that friend...we're tiny now."

Chenle snorts on the other side of the line, "Yeah, no shit." Jisung throws his hands in the air at the insult before crossing them, and Jeno laughs again behind him, chest rumbling against Jisung's back. Why's he so close?

He can hear Chenle sigh then.

"Okay, so, don't freak out, Jisung." As if he wasn't already freaking out. "That's normal." Nothing about this is normal! "You just have to wait to go back to your regular size. It shouldn't take more than, oh, 24 hours? Just make sure you don't get stepped on or anything! I'll come get the crystal later, but I'm leaving town for the day so you and your classmate are stuck for now."

"There's really nothing you can do?"

"Nope! Crap, I have to hang up now, my mom is yelling from downstairs. Don't let your cat eat you either, Jisung! Bye!"

The line goes dead.

"Well, that wasn't much help." Jeno says, voice way to close to Jisung's ear. The younger shakes his head several times and tries to extricate himself from Jeno's hold only to fail.

"You can let go of me now, hyung."

"Hm...no, I don't want to."

Jisung turns to look at him and scrunches his nose, lightly hitting the tops of Jeno's hands where they rest over his stomach. He still doesn't let go and just grins at the younger, but it's not a real smile like the one he gave him on the desk. Jisung wonders why he never actually smiles.

"Anyways, I'm tired. All that climbing and freaking out. How about we take a nap?"

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious."

They have a staring contest for a few seconds before Jisung sighs and relents. He nods, and Jeno pats his stomach before tugging him towards the edge of the pillow. Eventually they're laying between Jisung's pillows with the very edge of the blanket over top of them.

Jeno looks like he's almost asleep when Jisung speaks up.

"Sorry, hyung, for getting you into this mess."

He cracks one eye open and looks at the younger who avoids his gaze, staring up at the ceiling. A breath leaves Jeno as he moves over and Jisung feels his arm around his waist again.

"Don't worry about it Jisung-ah. Now sleep. We'll be back to normal before you know it."

"Okay."

So they sleep.

They somehow sleep long enough for them to wake up back to their regular sizes, one of Jisung's pillows knocked to the floor and the other squished behind Jeno's head against the wall. They barely fit on the bed together, what with Jisung being so lanky and Jeno's muscular build, but squished against each other it manages to work.

The events of yesterday would feel like a dream if Jisung didn't hear Chenle pounding on his front door. He groans and sits up, Jeno's arm laying on his lap as the older starts to stir.

"That's Chenle. I have to go get the door, hyung."

Blinking a few times Jeno looks up at him and nods, lifting his head to put the pillow underneath it and burying his face into the soft fabric. His voice is muffled when he responds.

"Okay. Don't tell him I'm here."

Again Jisung frowns and nods. He slips out from under the covers and carefully grabs the crystal from his dresser, making sure it doesn't touch the sunlight this time, and makes his way downstairs. The pounding on the door doesn't stop until he opens it.

"Jisu-! Oh, hey, Jisung. Do you have-?"

"Here," he thrusts his hand out and shoves the crystal into Chenle's chest. "Take it."

"Are you and your classmate okay? Are they-"

"They left." Jisung bites his lip at the lie. "I mean, we both went to sleep since there was nothing else we could do, and when I woke up they were gone. Must have left for home or something."

"Yeah, they probably don't want to talk to you again since this happened." Not true. It's like Jeno can't get enough of Jisung most of the time, but he promised not to tell Chenle who he was with.

"Yeah...anyways, I'm going to eat now. Then sleep again, because I'm scarred. Totally scarred, Chenle. Next time I come over to your house we can hang out in the living room because all your rocks scare me."

"They're not scary!"

"Sure, sure. I'm closing the door now."

"Okay, fine! Let me know when you want to hang out next."

"Mm-hm."

Jisung shuts the door.

The house is quiet as he pours himself a bowl of cereal, and thinking about the occupant of his bedroom he pours another one just in case, making the journey back upstairs with two bowls in hand.

"Hyung," He pushes open the door. "I got you some break...fast."

The room is empty, and his window is open, the curtains blowing in the soft breeze. He sighs. Figures. Jeno comes and goes as he pleases. At least Jisung is a growing boy and can eat both bowls by himself.

He sits at his desk and decides to start working on the homework he planned to do yesterday. When he flips open his notebook there's a little doodle in the corner of the page, a simple heart. He flushes and closes the notebook immediately.

"Stupid hyung." he says to himself around a mouthful of cereal, trying to ignore his thoughts of fake smiles and cryptic messages.

The only thing Jeno was ever truthful about was his love.


	19. bets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: NoHyuck (Donghyuck x Jeno)  
Rating: M // Suggestive Themes, Copious Amounts of Swearing  
Summary: A vampire and a werewolf is the definition of an antagonistic relationship. Jeno and Donghyuck just take it a couple steps too far.
> 
> \+ :^))))))))))))))))))

"Bet you can't catch me, wolfie."

Jeno glares at the vampire standing at the other side of the table where he's seated. He _thought_ that spending time in the library would get him some peace and quiet, but that clearly wasn't the case as Donghyuck looked at him his usual haughty expression, arms crossed.

The werewolf eventually shrugs and goes back to reading his textbook.

"Not interested."

"Oh, come on, you dumb dog," Donghyuck sings as he walks around the table, coming up to Jeno's side while the older really does try to focus on the paragraph he's reading. It's hard when out of the corner of his eye he sees Donghyuck's pretty fingers sliding over the tabletop. That and his ever-insulting nicknames for Jeno - he's easily angered. "I know you want a challenge. Just take the bait and-"

Jeno lunges for Donghyuck's wrist, teeth snapping and yellow eyes glowing as the vampire laughs. He easily escapes with his inhuman speed, once again back on the other side of the table.

"You'll take the bet then?"

He growls, and Donghyuck smirks.

"One month. If you can't catch me by the time 30 days have gone by, then I'm the winner. Oh, it'll be so sweet to see you lose, pup."

Jeno growls a little more at that, hating the nickname and ignoring how it sends an unnamed shiver down his spine. Hatred, he names the feeling, because admitting to it being anything else would be humiliating.

"Get the fuck out. I'm trying to study."

"Fine, fine. See you later, mutt."

Once the vampire has skipped out of the library Jeno let's himself relax. His shoulders fall and he rolls his neck, taking a few deep breaths like his mother always told him to when he got too angry. He can't help the fact that Donghyuck seems to know every spot to poke at to get him riled up. Now he'll have to deal with him for the rest of the month. _One month to catch him_, he thinks, finally able to read more than three paragraphs of his textbook and still retain the information. _Shouldn't be too hard_.

It is.

It seems like every time Jeno thinks he has the upper hand over the vampire it turns out to be a trick. The first time was when he simply followed Donghyuck to the bathroom at their university. Cornering him sounds like a good idea in theory, until you remember that vampires have way better hearing than werewolves and he probably heard Jeno before he even _thought_ about following him.

Jeno manages to accidentally break one of the stall doors _and_ smash a mirror above the sinks trying to grab him. He tries so fucking hard and still Donghyuck gets away with barely a scratch, leaving Jeno panting and with a bruise on his shoulder that hurts for days.

It's a sting to his pride because out of all the werewolves in his home pack Jeno was the fastest - the strongest.

Donghyuck really does make him feel like a dumb pup. The way his father would berate him when doing dangerous things like sticking his muzzle into a rose bush and trying to swim in river rapids. Only it's different with Donghyuck, because it's not like he gets turned on when his dad scolds him. That's just the vampire.

After the first incident Jeno changes tactics.

For instance, he knows that Donghyuck likes to go to the local cafe every Thursday. So what does he do? He goes to the cafe around noon after his classes are over and waits. Sure enough, the vampire walks in at around 4PM just as Jeno is finishing his math homework.

"Fancy seeing you here, _mutt_."

"You as well, Donghyuck."

He looks up from his notebook and smiles, and the vampire narrows his eyes before sitting down across from him. Jeno just returns to his work as Donghyuck sips his iced coffee thoughtfully.

"You're planning something." he says eventually, and when Jeno looks up again his expression is the epitome of innocence.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"No, see," Donghyuck shakes his finger in the air before pointing at the werewolf. Jeno sniffs and blinks and waits for him to continue. "You're never this civil with me. In fact, I didn't even know you had a civil bone in your body."

Now the usual anger he feels in the vampire's presence is showing a little on his face.

"What's that supposed to me?"

"That you're a dumb dog who doesn't know how to act like a regular person?"

"I can act like a regular person you-"

"You probably smelled your drink before you drank it, right?"

"Well, yeah-"

"And the pastry you ordered?"

Jeno flushes, half from embarrassment and half from annoyance.

"It's normal!"

"No, it's not. It's a dog thing you weirdo."

"For the last time, I'm not a fucking dog."

"Whatever," Donghyuck starts to get up from the table, and Jeno's plan has kind of fallen to pieces already, so can you really blame him when he reaches to grab Donghyuck by the wrist? Like always the vampire was expecting it and pulls away easily. Jeno's knees bang into the underside of the table, and the younger laughs. "Dumb dog."

Jeno makes a rough noise in his throat and in his effort to catch the other manages to put one leg on top of the table. When he makes a move to go after Donghyuck who's halfway to the door the table catches on his foot and tips over.

A loud clang resonates through the cafe and the werewolf is red from head to toe. Everything goes quiet except for the bell on the door as Donghyuck opens it, and his laughter that rings in Jeno's ears as he quickly gathers his things while being told he's banned from ever coming back by a disgruntled manager. Fuck Donghyuck and fuck his stupid bet. Fuck everything.

There is a third time and a fourth time and a fifth time until Jeno begins to lose track of how many attempts he's made at catching the elusive vampire. It's only _Tuesday_ for fuck's sake, and yet Jeno has both embarrassed and made a fool of himself in several different places around town and campus.

Donghyuck is always out of reach.

On Wednesday Jeno considers giving up, but the moment the thought comes to him he's pissed. He's a werewolf, the words "give up" aren't even supposed to be in his vocabulary. He just has to think about this a little differently.

That afternoon he flops back onto his bed and stares at the ceiling.

The answer is right there, in the poster of his favorite band, and he already feels the first inklings of victory trickle in.

It's Thursday again and Jeno is enjoying his lunch in the cafeteria when Donghyuck sits across from him. Instead of looking up he just eats his food and scrolls through his Instagram feed. He can feel Donghyuck's eyes boring holes into the top of his head.

A few minutes pass by in tense silence, Jeno content to just spend the rest of his lunch hour sitting on his phone when Donghyuck finally speaks up.

"You're ignoring me."

Jeno hums, "Mm-hm."

"Why?"

He shrugs, liking a picture posted by his friend and exiting out of the app before logging into another. Now he's scrolling through his Twitter feed before Donghyuck waves a hand between the screen and his eyes. Jeno looks up to give him an unimpressed expression.

"I don't have to pay attention to you all the time, Donghyuck." (As if he doesn't already spend his every waking moment thinking about the vampire. Maybe he put a spell over Jeno, and that's why he can never get him out of his head?)

"You always pay attention to me."

"Don't be so full of yourself."

"Are you giving up then? Do you admit defeat?"

Jeno purses his lips and lays his utensils on his plate, putting his phone face down on the table.

"I'm not giving up, I'm just...taking a break."

"So you have another plan."

Now he smiles and shrugs, "Maybe I do, but that's none of your business." He picks his phone up again and returns to ignoring the vampire, who huffs and drinks his frozen coffee in record time before standing. Jeno can hear as he shuffles next to the table for a few seconds. He must expect Jeno to reach out for him like he has been, but when the werewolf continues to be absorbed in his screen Donghyuck marches off in annoyance.

It feels good to have the upper hand for once.

For the next two weeks Donghyuck starts to get antsy. He seems uneasy at the fact that all his usual tactics to annoy Jeno aren't working, and Jeno just keeps striking the days off his calendar, _but down to what?_ Donghyuck has no fucking clue.

"You're such a dumb fucking dog. I bet your plan is something just as dumb. What are you gonna do, sneak into my dorm room? Piss on my clothes?"

"Are you into that?"

He goes red in the face and splutters as Jeno looks at him plainly. They're sitting in the school courtyard behind the art building, with no one else in the near vicinity.

"No! It was a dog joke, you idiot!"

Jeno rolls his eyes and goes back to playing his game. It's hard to stop himself from smiling because _of course he knew it was a joke_, but being able to get Donghyuck flustered like this is just _so much fun_. He's relishing in it.

"Anyways, _mutt_, three days until the bet is over. It's like you've already lost."

"Your complacency is astounding, Donghyuck."

"Your complacency is astounding," the other imitates him in an annoying voice, and Jeno snorts. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing. Just saw something funny in my game."

Another lie, and this time Jeno didn't mean to make it believable. Donghyuck squints in his direction before trying to take the device suddenly. Pulling it away from the vampire Jeno attempts to focus on playing, but when Donghyuck's hand comes over the screen he really is annoyed. You seriously can't blame him for what happens next.

Jeno leans forward and licks the back of Donghyuck's hand up to half his forearm, only stopping when the vampire drags his arm back to his own chest, eyes wide.

"What the _fuck_? You're a fucking _animal_, Jeno."

"So you do know my name."

"That's not the point!"

"Okay, what is the point?"

"That you're a-a mongrel. A beast. A beastly mongrel."

"I'm pretty sure the correct term is werewolf, sweetheart."

And isn't that just the most lovely sound, Donghyuck choking on his own words? Jeno smiles to himself and settles deeper into his chair as he enters a boss fight in his game. Although it doesn't look like it, all of his attention remains on Donghyuck.

Donghyuck who's cheeks are currently as red as cherries.

Donghyuck who gets under his skin like no one else can.

Donghyuck who is probably the most beautiful boy in the universe, but that's just another thing Jeno will never say out loud.

"Are you really not going to chase me?" he deflates, all the fight leaving him as he flops into a seat at the table, laying his head down in his arms. Jeno still doesn't look up from his game but he does reach out to pat Donghyuck on the head.

"Not today."

"Soon?"

"Soon."

Soon happens to be three days later on the last night of the bet.

Jeno hasn't gone to class since his conversation with Donghyuck at the courtyard tables, probably because he can feel his wolf just underneath his skin as the full moon draws closer. Every time he moves his muscles shift, ready for anything. His brain is yelling at him to _run, chase, hunt_, but he keeps himself in check by listening to his favorite music and locking himself in his dorm room. At one point he goes a little stir crazy and destroys one of his pillows, but it's happened before so Jeno always keeps a spare in the closet.

That morning, on the third day, he takes a cold shower that leaves him chilled just enough to stop himself from taking off into the woods and possibly coming back at midnight with a rabbit in his teeth.

He checks the clock.

Eight o'clock and it's already dark. Donghyuck should be out of his night class by now, and as soon as the thought crosses his mind Jeno is finally leaving his dorm. He doesn't take his phone or his keys. He's not even wearing a shirt or shoes, just pants, bare feet on the pavement as he makes his way through a campus devoid of other students.

Jeno's a little out of it so he doesn't even notice where he's going until he hears a voice.

"Jeno?"

He turns his head and sure enough, there's Donghyuck several feet away at the entrance of the science building. The last of Jeno's humanity is torn when he sees the realization in Donghyuck's eyes. The full moon is hanging high behind Jeno, framing him in an unearthly glow. When he hears the thud of Donghyuck's backpack on the ground and the sound of his footsteps as he starts running in the other direction he can't stop himself any longer.

Run, _chase_, **hunt**.

So he chases, just like Donghyuck wanted.

It's thrilling to let his wolf out like this. To give in to the instincts he usually tries so hard to ignore in lieu of a normal, everyday life.

He can hear the harshness of Donghyuck's breathing and the wisp of his clothing in the wind. Every one of Jeno's senses are heightened, better, stronger. This is the one night a month where Jeno is stronger than the vampire who usually stands next to him as an equal. The small, human voice in the back of Jeno's head feels a little sympathetic for the vampire, but his wolf is enjoying this immensely.

They're in the woods by the school now, and he listens for Donghyuck running through the trees off the man-made path. He can pinpoint the exact moment that the vampire trips. Those few seconds are just enough time for Jeno to get close enough to touch, his fingertips grazing Donghyuck's back before he's taking off again.

He snarls at the close call and delights in hearing the vampire's audible whine.

Unlike before Jeno doesn't stop chasing Donghyuck. Even when his legs are burning and his lungs feel like they're on fire. It's exhilarating. For a minute or so he's right behind Donghyuck until there's a break in the canopy and the moonlight spills onto the forest floor.

Jeno lunges and tackles him to the ground, mind hazy with the victory of a successful hunt.

"Off! Get off me, you stupid mutt! Dumb dog!"

Jeno does the exact opposite and grips Donghyuck's arms just above his elbows, pinning them to his sides as he sits on the backs of the vampire's thighs. He catches his breath for a moment before suddenly letting go to grab the back of Donghyuck's collar and rip his shirt.

"What the _fuck_, you animal!"

He's overtaken with the urge - a need - to bite, mark, _claim_. Jeno's teeth clamp down on the vampire's shoulder, canine points digging into the muscle and skin as Donghyuck writhes underneath him in the dirt.

"Oh, fuck," the younger whimpers beneath him, and it's like music to Jeno's ears.

He pulls back and licks at the bite mark. It's an angry red that stands out in the moonlight and he's drawn to it, dragging the flat of his tongue over the indents of his own teeth, covering the mark in spit and tasting Donghyuck's sweat.

"Stop slobbering all over me, you dumb dog."

Jeno growls, "Shut up," and raises himself to rip the rest of Donghyuck's t-shirt apart. Then he lays himself over top of the vampire who's still struggling, but tonight Jeno is stronger. He brings one arm around Donghyuck's waist and the other under his arm and over his chest, his hand brushing against the other's neck as he pulls him up to his knees.

"I caught you," He licks behind Donghyuck's ear, nibbling at the tip and coating it in saliva like he did with his shoulder. "That means I'm the winner." His hot breath puffs against Donghyuck's skin and he can feel as the vampire shudders against him, his back to Jeno's chest.

"You are."

"Are you my prize then?"

Just to tease Jeno runs his hand over Donghyuck's torso. He tweaks one of his nipples and revels in the sharp gasp he makes, his back arching ever so slightly. His head lays back on Jeno's shoulder as the werewolf runs his palm down, entranced by the sight of Donghyuck's fluttering lashes and moonlit skin.

He watches as his mouth opens when Jeno's hand comes between his legs, the vampire's thighs tensing as he rubs the heal of his palm over his crotch.

"Yes, yes, I'm your prize." he keens, hips pushing forward into Jeno's hand and causing the werewolf to smirk. He likes the sound of that.

"Say it again."

"Yours."

"Again."

"I'm yours, fuck, _Jeno_."

_I'm yours_.


	20. esp / psychic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: JaemSung (Jaemin x Jisung)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Jisung has crippling self doubt when it comes to the question _are you a good person?_ Jaemin is there to remind him that the answer is always _yes_.
> 
> \+ This is very short. ;;;; But hopefully packed with feelings!

"Jisung-ah."

"I didn't mean to."

Jaemin sighs on the other side of the door before gently pulling it open. Inside the wardrobe Jisung is sitting at the bottom with his arms around his knees, only the top of his strawberry blonde head visible. Stepping into the wardrobe Jaemin sits across from him and shuts the door.

"I know you didn't. He deserved it anyways."

"You know I don't think like that, hyung. I didn't want to hurt him even if he did deserve it."

"You just spilled his lunch on him. It's really not that bad, Sungie."

Snorting under his breath Jisung curls tighter around himself, wanting to feel small in the dark closet. It helps sometimes. Without the sensory overload he has better control of his abilities.

"Bad enough for everyone to call me a freak."

"Hey," Jaemin chastises, reaching out to place his hand over top of Jisung's. "You're not a freak. No matter what anyone says."

"Even if I'm the only person that can flip a lunch tray with his mind?"

"Especially that, Jisung. You're not a freak, you're special."

"It's getting harder to believe that, hyung."

"I know."

They go quiet after that, just breathing in the shared space of the wardrobe. Somewhere outside the bell announcing fourth period rings. Instead of telling him to go to class Jaemin stays right where he is across from the younger boy.

"Do you need a hug?" he asks eventually.

Jisung doesn't respond, but he does shuffle in the darkness until Jaemin can feel his arms reaching out. He takes hold of Jisung's wrists and brings them around his neck, letting go to wrap his arms around Jisung's waist and pull him between his legs. Resting his chin on the younger boy's shoulder he smiles in the dark, reaching up to run his fingers through the back of his hair.

"It'll be okay, Jisung-ah. I promise."

The younger boy hums a small thank you, but that's all Jaemin needs.


	21. antique

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: RenMin (Renjun x Jaemin)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Renjun is exploring his grandmother's attic when he finds the old camera. 
> 
> \+ w h e ez e I dunno I just thought to myself "hey this collection could use some renmin" and this happened.

"Oh, gross," Renjun scrunches his nose and knocks away a cobweb upon entering the attic. It's dimly lit by a single round window at the other end of the room and smells like moth balls. His grandmother had always been scared of the insects and he wonders how the rest of the house didn't smell the same.

"Why do I have to be the one to go into the attic? Why couldn't Sicheng-ge do it instead?"

Grumbling to himself Renjun climbs the rest of the way up the pull out stairs and stands in the small space. The ceiling is slanted on two sides, and if he gets too close he'll hit his head on the support beams. Dust floats through the sunbeams and he coughs a little. Surrounding him are various boxes and crates full of pictures, objects and old nick-knacks.

"Renjun!"

"Yeah?"

He yells back down the opening to the attic where his mother is. The leader creaks and her head pops up through the floor.

"Oh, there you are. Did you find anything yet?"

"No, I just got up here."

Reaching out towards one of the boxes he opens a flap, peering inside. It's full of old toys. Really old toys, jeez. One of them is a broken doll with a missing eye that stares back up at him, ceramic face framed by golden curls. He closes the box.

"Well, if you find anything you want to keep just let us know. We'll put it separate so they don't include in the estate sale."

"Mm-hm."

After she walks back down the ladder Renjun is left alone in the attic.

Where does he even start? There's so many boxes, an old birdhouse in the corner and some creepy dress mannequins that he definitely _doesn't_ want to keep. Towards the back by the round window are a few shelves with things on display. He decides that's the best place to begin looking.

Standing in front of the shelves he sees they're full of random objects. Salt and pepper shakers, old teacups and doilies, a fancy pen.

On the top shelf is an old antique camera, which he immediately reaches up for - only to have his fingers barely graze the lens with how high the shelf is. Huffing in annoyance he looks around and pulls a stool in front of the shelf to stand on it, finally able to get the camera down from the top. It's quite large in his small hands. A light brown color with a large lens at the end and an accordion like body. When he brings the camera up to his eye he can't see anything and realizes it's because it's covered in dust.

"How long have you been up here?" he asks the camera while lowering it and wiping the viewfinder with his sleeve.

Then he steps off the stool and raises it to his eye again, finally able to see out of the lens. The entire room is sepia colored through the tinted glass. Renjun turns slowly where he stands, surveying the room through the camera while wondering if there's any film inside.

Through the camera everything in the attic looks like it was printed on an old postcard. The boxes, the bird cage, the mannequins, the boy in the corner.

Renjun almost drops the camera and pulls it away, staring at the corner on the other side of the room. There's nothing there. He raises the camera back up to his eye while looking at the same spot just in time to see a shadow of something move.

"Hello?" he calls, a shiver running down his spine as the temperature seems to drop. "Is anyone there?"

He doesn't get an answer.

Looking around the entire attic he doesn't see anything out of the ordinary. Maybe it was just a poster or something? Renjun makes his way to the other end of the room to look. He has to stretch his legs over a few boxes to get into the corner where a small table is standing. On the table are two objects: a picture frame and a letter opener.

Renjun picks up the frame.

Inside it is a picture of a young man, probably around his age, with dark hair and a pretty smile. He has his arm wrapped around someone but that person is cut out of the picture. He flips the frame over and there's a name written on the back.

"Na...Jaemin," he reads, brow furrowing. Renjun flips the frame back over and - without himself understanding why he does it - raises the camera to look at the picture through the lens.

In the sepia-tint the boy in the picture is no longer smiling.

There's a hand with delicate fingers brushing over the boy's face, and it's not Renjun's. He holds his breath and tilts the camera to follow the arm attached to the hand, eventually leading to a figure kneeling next to him. He can't see their face as its turned towards the picture.

"Hello?"

The figure looks up and it's the same face from the picture.

Renjun does drop the picture this time, pulling the camera away from his eye and stumbling back into the wall as the glass breaks and shatters over the floor. He takes deep breaths and looks around the attic with wide eyes, but he still can't see the boy. His hands are shaking as he clutches the camera to his chest.

"Renjun?"

He yelps, jumping and hitting his head on one of the beams before turning to see his mother's head in the attic opening again.

"Oh, sweetie, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he says, rubbing his head and wincing because that most definitely is going to leave a bruise. "Um, anyways, did you want something?"

"I just came up to tell you that we're almost ready to go. The estate movers will be here in a little bit, so if there's anything you wanted to keep just bring it with you now."

"Okay. I'll be down in a few minutes."

When she's gone Renjun quickly bends down to the picture frame, careful of the glass as he takes the picture out. Once he's standing something tells him to take the letter opener too. He grabs it and leaves the attic with the photo, the letter opener and the camera. He rolls up the photo and hides it in his coat pocket.

"Did you get what you want?"

"Yeah, I found this cool camera," he says quickly, getting into the backseat of the van. He holds it in his lap as they start driving away from the house, and when he looks through it towards the attic one last time he sees the same boy in the window, watching as they drive away.


	22. dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: NoEun (Jeno x Yeeun)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Your typical story about a jock falling in love with a nerd - or is it?
> 
> \+ Jeno and Yeeun are so cute on The Show I just had to write something! Then this happened so...enjoy?

Jeno doesn't mean to fall asleep, really, but it's so peaceful and warm in the empty music room that the moment his head touched the desk he was drifting off. Using his arms as a makeshift pillow with the sunlight as his blanket he dreams of a soft voice and pretty eyes.

"Noona?"

"Hm?"

Shifting so his gaze is turned to the sky from where he has his head on Yeeun's thighs Jeno blinks up at the girl. He thinks she looks like an angel with the golden sunlight framing her white blonde hair. Her lips are curved into a warm smile that makes him feel like he's simultaneously wrapped up in a soft blanket and sipping his favorite hot cocoa.

"Do you like anyone?"

She laughs quietly and pushes Jeno's bangs out of his eyes, lightly scratching her nails against his scalp while rearranging his brown locks. Instead of answering right away she hums as she does so. Jeno closes his eyes and just enjoys the attention.

"I might," she says eventually, and he can't help the way his heartbeat picks up a little.

"Who?"

"Well, he's younger than me," Check. "He plays soccer." Check. "Horrible math skills." Ouch, check. "Has the cutest eye smile that would make anyone give in to what he wants." Check? "Oh, he also loves cats." Check! "And his name starts with a J." By the end of her little checklist Jeno is beet red, wishing he could hide his face in the baby pink fabric of their shared picnic blanket. Yeeun grins and pokes him in the center of his forehead. "You know who he is."

"I do?"

"Mm-hm," she nods and pulls her hands away, for once looking just as shy as Jeno feels. He decides to take a chance.

"What's his name?"

"His name is-"

"_Jeno!_"

Startled out of his dream Jeno scrambles up from the desk, almost falling out of his chair, "I'm awake!" When his vision reorients he finds himself looking up at the actual Yeeun - his very annoyed math tutor.

She's completely different from the Yeeun in his dreams. Real Yeeun has black hair as dark as obsidian and cold eyes framed by sleek glasses. Instead of a pink flowing blouse she wears a pressed white button down. Her hands are perfectly manicured, painted black nails curling around a folder and notebook with the practice problems Jeno was supposed to finish last night.

He gives her an apologetic smile, hoping that will lessen her anger.

"Sorry. I fell asleep."

"I can see that."

Taking a seat across from him Yeeun starts opening the folder and notebook, getting ready for their tutor session without another word. She only looks at him when he still hasn't moved and Jeno quickly pulls his chair closer and opens his own notebook.

The next hour or so passes by like usual. Yeeun teaches him how to do the math problems and Jeno really does try his best, but half the time he gets confused at the third or fourth step and needs it re-explained. Sometimes he wonders why she still helps him if he struggles so bad. Jeno is grateful for it though, and he gets to sit with the older girl for a few hours every week. She may not be the version of Yeeun that he sees in his dreams, but he likes to think that maybe one day she'll smile at him like she does in the sunny picnic universe he visits when he sleeps.

If he can get his algebra done first.

"Jeno?"

"Yeah?"

"Pay attention."

The daydreams can wait.


	23. tomb / graveyard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: LuRen (Yukhei x Renjun)  
Rating: G // Warning: Mention of Animal Death  
Summary: An elf has lost his friend, but his love is there to make sure he's alright.
> 
> \+ PALLU IF YOU'RE READING THIS THIS ONE'S FOR YOU !!!!!!!!!

Glittering sunlight spills over the clearing full of flowers. Pastel buds of pink, yellow and white paint the expanse of land, long stalks of single, dark violet lilies sprouting in various spots between the tiny flowers.

A forest elf is kneeling next to one of these lilies. He runs his hand over the soft fur of a sick doe, whispering sweet things to her in her final times. The doe's head rests in the elf's lap and he smiles to her sadly, holding back the tears gathering in his eyes and clinging to his lashes. He feels the exact moment the serene animal stops breathing.

"May Udrea guide you to golden pastures." he recites, a phrase to help the doe's spirit pass on safely. He's lost too many friends to the darkness plaguing their land already. Surely he can at least give their souls a sense of peace?

He pets the doe's head one last time before gently placing her in the ground.

The elf stands and turns to look at the edge of the clearing, where a tall figure is half-hidden in the shadows of the trees. When he notices the elf's attention he steps into the flower patch and makes his way over with a shovel. Quietly, while the elf waits to the side of the earthly grave, the taller covers the doe with soil. He packs it down firmly to make sure it's secure and takes a step back.

"Lumen, Unda, Ignis, Terra." The elf guides his hand over the doe's final resting place, the tips of his fingers glowing a soft gold as little flowers begin to sprout in the soil. "Praise be to Udrea and all her Earthly creations. Set this friend on the path to light, and cleanse her soul of the evil of darkness."

_Breath in, breathe out_.

"It's done."

"Are you ready to go?" the warrior asks, gazing at the elf softly and waiting with the patience of a statue in Ilia's garden. He waits, even when the elf doesn't respond right away.

He nods.

They don't say anything else as they walk out of the pasture, pausing only so the warrior can return the shovel to the hollowed hole of a large oak tree. For the next inevitable burial, as sad as it sounds. After that they take the main path towards the Elven city just outside the Willowing Forest. The journey is taken in the quiet, speckled with the call of birds and the chirp of insects.

At the edge of the woods, on the crest of a hill, the city is sprawled out below them for several miles. It's not nearly as big as the Elven capital far away in the mountains, but it is large enough to get lost in.

The warrior takes the elf by the hand as they descend on the path to the outer ring.

Their home is located just beyond the hustle and bustle of the inner city, a small cut out in a large structure where other elves and creatures live. Such is the way of life in which only Elves are permitted to live in the inner ring. If they have a lover of another race they must live here on the edge.

"Home sweet home," says the warrior with a small smile, pushing open the door and standing aside to let the elf in. "I'll make us some tea."

The elf nods, "Thank you," and makes his way to their bedroom.

Standing in front of the floor length mirror he looks at himself. Bright golden hair and freckle dusted cheeks, the tips of his small pointy ears just barely peeking out. He's draped in light green robes with silver accents - funeral attire.

He turns away from the mirror and begins to disrobe, unclasping the front of his robes and letting them slide down to reveal the expanse of his smooth back, the fabric coming together at his elbows. His lover walks into the room then with a small tray, already devoid of his armor and weapons, dressed in a simple pair of brown pants and a black top. The elf doesn't notice until his warrior is behind him, gently wrapping arms around the shorter's slim waist and pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

"Renjun," he says quietly, and the elf turns his head to look up. "The tea's ready."

He cups the taller's cheek and presses a kiss to the underside of his jaw, "Thank you, Yukhei. Let me just get changed."

Yukhei nods and takes the tray again, placing it on the bedside table. While he prepares the bed Renjun pulls off the rest of his robes, hanging them on the edge of a basket for washing later. He pulls his deep blue robe from a hook on the wall and wraps it around himself, tying it loosely before getting into the other side of the bed.

Yukhei hands him his tea, still warm and cinnamon scented - just how he likes it.

He takes a long sip. Quiet. Thoughtful.

"Are you going to be okay?" Yukhei asks at his side, voice soft as the beginning rays of sunset begin to spill into the room. The elf nods.

They don't talk much after that, both enjoying their drink in the shared silence. This is their own private ritual after a burial. Renjun doesn't feel like talking much, a quiet form of grief. Yukhei, while not having the same connection to the forest and its creatures, indulges his elven lover. It helps Renjun calm his mind and slowly regain his energy again.

Renjun places his teacup on the other bedside table, golden liquid swirling in the bottom of the cup. It's Yukhei's signal to put his down and wrap an arm around the smaller's shoulder, pulling him into his side.

He presses a kiss to the top of the elf's head, "Let's rest."

It's peaceful in Yukhei's arms. Less thoughts about pastured graveyards and the darkness clinging to the outside lands. More listening to the even breathing of the human warrior, absorbing his warmth and comfort.

Renjun tucks his head beneath Yukhei's chin and closes his eyes, "Thank you, mi valiente amor."


	24. plant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: NoMin (Jaemin x Jeno)  
Rating: E // Sexual Content // Warning: Tentacles(?), Plants Acting As Tentacles(?)   
Summary: Like always one of Jaemin's experiments goes completely wrong and Jeno is pulled into it - literally.
> 
> \+ Turn away now, and if you go ahead and read this then please forgive me for ever publishing it. cr y
> 
> P.S. - I haven't read the HP books or watched the HP movies in a l o n g time so sorry if I've got things wrong (this is a Harry Potter AU I guess I should have said that earlier sdkfhdks).

"Jaemin! I'm going to, ah-! Kill you!"

"M-Maybe some other time, Jeno-oh!"

  
You're probably wondering, _what is happening right now?_ Let us start at the beginning.

  
Na Jaemin is a recent graduate from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is a proud Slytherin and a seven-year member of the school's Herbology club. While he has quite the green thumb, he is also well learned in the area of Potions, and has a bad habit of mixing the two subjects together while creating some...less than pleasing side effects.

Like the one time he poured a speaking potion into the pot of a sunflower, and the next day he checked up on it the center of the plant had two full rows of human teeth without lips. It also only seemed to be able to speak in curses, which his Herbology professor had not been happy with.

There was also the time when he gave another plant a potion that was supposed to make its leaves fuzzy. Instead it acted like a growth hormone. A very fast growth hormone, where the plant got so big it burst through the roof of the greenhouse and almost destroyed it had his professor not used the right spell to make the plant wither.

You'd think that with his track record for bad potion-plant combinations Jaemin would stop attempting them. It was quite the opposite, really, each failure spurring him to find a solution. He usually did, after much trial and error. The sunflower eventually spoke without a horrifying human mouth (and less cursing) and the other plant gained fuzzy leaves soft to the touch. He was really onto something by combining the two subjects, hence why he continued to do so after leaving school.

The only difference now being that he's roped his best friend into the chaos.

That best friend is none other than Lee Jeno, also a recent graduate in the same year as Jaemin. He's a true Hufflepuff with a heart of gold and a fist just waiting to knock out anyone who speaks ill of his friends. Many people questioned their relationship in Hogwarts, and who could blame them? A Slytherin and a Hufflepuff? Best friends? As if.

Somehow they just made it work, which is probably why the two decided to live together in a house out in the country. Didn't matter that it was far from the nearest city, considering they could floo to wherever they were needed.

It also gave Jaemin plenty of room for his experiments.

"Your mad scientist endeavors," Jeno would say, and Jaemin would threaten him out of his lab with a broom so he would leave him alone.

Today was like any other day. Jaemin had woken up at the crack of dawn like the early bird he was, and after a minute of stretching he walked down the stairs into the kitchen to make breakfast. About half an hour later Jeno walked in with his pajamas still on, hair sticking up in every direction.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Jaemin greeted, setting a plate of eggs on the counter before Jeno, laughing as the older boy yawned.

"Morning."

They eat together as the sun continues to rise, Jeno becoming more awake the closer he is to finishing his plate. He actually looks a little alive now with the food in his system, which Jaemin points out to the other. Jeno kicks his shin under the table.

"Ow!"

"Shut up," He shoves a forkful of eggs into his mouth and nods in Jaemin's direction as the younger rubs his leg. "What are you doing today?"

"First of all, don't talk with food in your mouth. Second of all, the usual."

Jaemin sips his coffee.

"So," Jeno swallows his food. "You're being a mad scientist again?"

"Not a _mad_ scientist, Jeno. A scientist, period."

"You say that but who knows what you're doing down there? Maybe you're killing innocent plants for the sake of your sick experiments."

"I am not!" Jaemin cries, outraged, and Jeno laughs across from him. He almost snorts his eggs and chokes for a second before managing to swallow them down. There are tears in the corners of his eyes as he laughs some more.

"Okay, okay. I know you're not, but I can't help it! You never let me see what you're doing down there. I only see what goes wrong, like last time..."

"We don't speak about last time." Last time being the time when one of Jaemin's experiments produced an aphrodisiac that made anyone who breathed it in unbearably aroused. Yeah, they couldn't leave the house that day. "And it's top secret work, Jeno. Very important, you wouldn't understand."

"Mm-hm..."

Jeno hums, dragging the front of his fork back and forth over the plate now that it's empty.

"Well, as much as I love our morning banter I have to go get ready. Hard to write books when you feel your sweat sticking to your back."

"Oh, _gross_, go shower you neanderthal. I'll take care of the dishes."

"Thanks, Nana." Jeno grins and gets out of his seat, taking a moment to lean over and kiss Jaemin's cheek lightning fast before booking it out of the kitchen. Jeno is still laughing when Jaemin yells after him before shaking his head with a fond smile. 

Like he promised, Jaemin washes the dishes and even lines them up nicely on the drying rack. He'll just have Jeno put them away later, but for now he gets his third cup of coffee and heads to the basement where his lab is.

It's a nice installation they managed to magic beneath the house when they moved in. The ceilings were tall, and it was one large room with a few smaller ones attached to it. There was even a greenhouse that had glass panels built into the ground to let the light in. Jaemin did most of his experiments in the main room there.

Once he's at the bottom of the steps he goes through with his normal preparation ritual.

First he places his coffee cup on the table near the door, away from all the vials and beakers of various colorful liquids. Then he dons his lab robes (very much just like his school robes, decorated with shiny green trim and a little snake pin that Jeno got him for Christmas). At last he takes his wand out to cast an invisible goggles charm to keep his eyes safe and gets to work.

For the next few hours Jaemin works on his latest potion. It's a love potion, funnily enough. His motivation is really just to see what happens when you give a plant a love potion. Do they love other plants? People? Will it do anything at all? (Yes, those really are the questions he wrote in his journal for this experiment.)

First he brews the love potion, adding the various ingredients and stirring when necessary. When he's done it's a light pink color and he pours some into his vial. Placing the vial on a counter he walks into the greenhouse. The door squeaks when he opens it and he looks around at the greenery. 

"Which one of you should I use today?" he asks out loud, perusing the many different pots and leaves and stems and petals. In the very back of the greenhouse is a hanging plant with long, thin vines and almost no leaves. The label he wrote on the bottom of the basket reads 'spindly spitter' - which makes sense considering the plant is also dripping with excess water. "You'll do just fine."

He takes the plant back to the lab with him and sets it in the sink.

Jaemin picks up the small vial and holds it over the plant, beginning to tip it over to pour the potion into the soil.

  
Now, you must be thinking - _Jaemin, what if this is dangerous? Shouldn't you be behind a protective barrier? Why even pour a love potion onto a plant at all?_ This is why Jeno often calls him a mad scientist, because these are the questions Jaemin doesn't ask or have the answers to.

  
As soon as the potion is completely poured the plant shudders for a moment a two before growing still. Jaemin frowns and sets down the vial, waiting for something else to happen. Nothing does.

Hm, he'll just have to leave it for a few hours and see if anything changes.

"Oh, well," he shrugs and walks back around the counter, leaving the plant in the sink. He might as well get some more coffee considering it's the middle of the afternoon now. He removes the goggles charm and pulls off his latex gloves, dumping them in the trash can when he hears a small clink and the sound of something breaking behind him.

Jaemin turns around.

The plant has grown twice its original size within a matter of seconds, accidentally pushing the vial onto the floor. Jaemin's eyes widen as he watches it grow twice as large again right in front of his eyes.

"Oh, no."

It doubles again, the vines growing thicker as well, and not a moment after that do they start _moving_ with a mind of their own.

It's like the fuzzy plant incident all over again.

"Oh no!" Jaemin yells this time, gripping his wand and trying to think of a spell to stop the plant from continuously growing. It really would be a shame to have the thing grow through the floorboards. Jeno would not be happy!

When one of the plant limbs moves in his direction suddenly Jaemin ducks and rolls to the other side of the room. The vine hits the wall and leaves a small crater in it, and he whimpers. Above him on the first floor something drops and he can hear rushed footsteps. The plant still seems to be searching for him when the door at the top of the stairway opens.

"Jaemin!" Jeno yells down into the basement, and he can hear the older boy starting to make his way in. "Are you okay?"

"Jeno, wait-!"

It's too late.

When he reaches the bottom of the steps one of the vines immediately wraps around Jeno's wrist, tugging him forward and making him stumble. Now that he's visible Jaemin can see that he's dressed in his robes too. He must have left the house earlier and only just came back.

"Jeno!"

Jaemin can only watch as more vines circle around the boy, eventually lifting him up into the air. Paralyzed by fear on the ground Jaemin watches as the vines curl tighter around Jeno, wrapped around his arms and legs and slipping under his robes. _Oh, Merlin, what if it tears him apart? Think, Jaemin, think!_

In all his frantic worry Jaemin doesn't notice what's actually happening until he hears a soft moan. _Wait, what?_

He looks up again and sure enough the noise is coming from Jeno, his mouth open and similar small moans falling past his lips. It's only then that Jaemin notices how the vines are moving beneath his robes, in the space right between where Jeno's legs have been spread just enough.

A violent blush paints Jaemin's cheeks at the sight.

"Holy shit."

One vine slithers up and out the collar of Jeno's robes before splitting them down the middle, the fabric only hanging off him where the vines are still curled around his limbs. Now Jaemin has a very full picture of what the vines are doing. The thickest one is caged by Jeno's thighs, rubbing at the growing erection in his pants, while smaller ones hold him by the waist and knees. Two new vines come up behind him before delving into his shirt, and Jaemin thinks he can see the ghost of one wrapping around and pinching at Jeno's nipple.

"Holy shit," he says louder, and Jeno cracks one eye open to find him, blushing just as hard.

"J-Jaemin," he says weakly, moaning again when the thick vine against his crotch presses harder against him.

"H-Hold on, Jeno! I'll help you, I just gotta- Woah!"

Jaemin shouldn't have spoken so loud, because apparently the plant can sense him now, and he's dragged away from the wall mid-sentence. He's surprised enough that he drops his wand before he's lifted upside down by his leg.

"No!"

He grasps at his wand but it's already several feet away, and more vines wrap around his arms to pull him upright. They hold him in the air just like Jeno, but are much quicker in tearing his robes off him, a few tatters floating to the tiles below. The snake pin clatters to the floor.

Looking across from him Jeno's shirt is undone at the top by three buttons, and another one pops off as a vine trails lower against his abdomen.

Jaemin yelps as he feels something wrap around his thigh, leg kicking out automatically only to be held in place by a strong vine.

Two more are waiting in front of his waist before slithering out to unbutton his pants and pull the zipper down. _Is it sentient now?_ Half of Jaemin's brain is teeming with scientific questions while the other is on red alert. He's embarrassed of the noise the come out of his mouth when a thicker vine pushes past his waistband, brushing against his dick.

Apparently the vine isn't too happy about being blocked by his underwear, and after only a few seconds of searching pushes inside of that too. It loops around the base of his cock two or three times, pulling another sort of groan from Jaemin.

While the vine begins to move Jaemin's eyes are drawn back to Jeno, who now has one appendage in his mouth and another in his pants. He looks almost blissed out, spit and another fluid dripping down his chin. The same fluid is gleaming under the lab lights on his chest and thighs, and Jaemin realizes it's from the plant itself.

That would probably explain why he feels like he has fire crawling under his skin. It's the same sensation from the aphrodisiac experiment a couple months ago.

The vine wrapped around his dick is now a wet slide, and more are pushing under his shirt with the same slimey fluid, causing the muscles of his stomach to jolt._ Merlin_, he just wants the heat to go away as he squirms and sighs in the plant's hold, but Jaemin also really knows there's only one answer to that. 

"Jeno," he tries to call the other boy's name but it comes out quiet and weak. He clears his throat, whimpering a little at a particularly harsh tug on his cock, and tries again. "Jeno!"

Finally Jeno opens his eyes. They're hazy, unfocused in Jaemin's direction as the vine in Jeno's mouth keeps lazily pushing in and out. Eventually it pulls out with a slick pop, showcasing Jeno's red and abused lips, the tip of his tongue visible in his still open mouth. The expression morphs into an angry frown as Jeno finally appears to come to his senses.

"What in Merlin's name did you, ah, _do_, Jaemin?"

_Oh, shit._ If there's one thing worse than a mutant magical plant with a penchant for cute boys it would be another cute boy. A cute boy who's rarely angry, but when he is, he's _angry_. An angry Lee Jeno.

"I didn't, oh-! Mean to! It was an accident, I swear!"

"An accident my ass- Ah!"

Oh, that's definitely a vine moving in and out of Jeno's ass now. Jaemin can just barely able to make out the tear in the back of his pants from where the plant ripped them down the middle over his cheeks. The vines move to hold Jeno in a position that makes it look like he's on his knees leaning forward, little punched out noises leaving his lips as the vine keeps fucking into him mercilessly.

The vines holding Jaemin move to place him right in front of Jeno, and even though he's kind of terrified right now - Jeno might actually kill him after this - he's also so turned on it hurts.

Seriously, plant slime has powers.

He tries to reach out for Jeno to help him somehow, but as soon as he makes the movement the vines around his arm tighten almost painfully to keep him in place. Jaemin can't move a muscle as the plant continues to play with him, small vines roaming beneath his shirt the the other in his pants pumping him quickly. He's so close to climax, thighs shaking and a familiar heat in his belly.

Jaemin comes with a choked off shout, shuddering through his orgasm and twitching with over stimulation when the plant doesn't stop its ministrations. When he's coherent enough to lift his head he sees Jeno go through the same across from him. Cum stains the front of his pants as a clear thick substance drips from the crevice off his ass. Huh...who knows plants could cum?

He looks back up at Jeno's face and oh, that's definitely his _Na Jaemin you're dead meat_ look.

"Jaemin. I'm going to, ah-! Kill you!"

"M-Maybe some other time, Jeno-oh!"

Some other time happens to be a few hours later when the plant has tired itself out and returned to its original size, leaving both boys spent and cum-covered on the floor. Jaemin comes to his sense as Jeno weekly hits his arm every few seconds.

"I." _Slap._ "Hate." _Slap._ "You." _Slap!_ "And. You're. Stupid. Experiments. So. Much!" _Slap!_

"Ow, Jeno-! Stop!"

Jeno is huffing and puffing at his side, red in the face and attempting to cover himself up with the shreds of his shirt. He really is angry if the tears clinging to his lashes are anything to go by, and maybe Jaemin is still high off that plant slime because the next thing to come out of his mouth is, "Pretty."

Jeno slaps him again.

"Ow! Would you quit it? I had to deal with the plant too!"

"Yeah, but your ass probably doesn't feel like a swimming pool right now!"

"Oh,_ ew_."

"Exactly! Now," he throws himself across Jaemin, who _oofs_ as the boy sprawls over his stomach with his full body weight. "Carry me up the stairs so I can take a shower and then sleep for eternity."

"Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad this time."

"Ass. Swimming Pool. Carry." Jeno pokes Jaemin in the side with each phrase until the younger relents.

"Okay, okay! Just give me a second my legs feel like jello."

"I can't feel my legs."

Jaemin's eyes widen and he immediately sits up, "You what?"

"Oh, Merlin, not actually! Fucked out, you idiot! I won't be able to walk for like three days I'm telling you. Stupid plant."

He breathes a sigh of relief at that and finally maneuvers himself off the floor, ignoring the sticky mess in his pants as he pulls Jeno up. When he realizes the boy's legs really are that weak right now Jaemin decides to lift him princess style in his arms, starting to carry him up the stairs.

"You better burn that thing before it does something weird again." Jeno mutters into his neck, and Jaemin nods.

"I will. In fact, I'll take care of it when you're in the shower, that way you can sleep easy, hm?"

"Good."


	25. spirited away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: ChenJi (Chenle x Jisung)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Jisung meets a strange boy beyond the river.
> 
> \+ I haven't watched the Spirited Away movie in _years_, so this is loosely based off the synopsis I read in a Wikipedia article. Sorry to any SA enthusiasts. uvu

Jisung is running.

That's kind of typical for him, considering that the group of boys chasing him have done so for the past month since school started. He doesn't know why the bullies target him specifically, but he would give anything to have them stop.

This time he's tried to lose them by taking off into the woods, tossing his backpack along the way as it only slowed him down. They still chase him even as he bursts out of the woods and comes to a halt at a wide river. Jisung stands at the edge with wide eyes, wondering if he can get across.

"Yah, mousy boy!"

He ducks his head and doesn't look back as the voices get closer, jogging along the riverbank for anyway to pass through it.

"He thinks he can run away!"

"Ha, let's see if he can run away from this!"

Jisung really doesn't want to find out what "this" is. The moment he spots a path of raised stones in the river he takes the chance, leaping onto one and almost losing his balance. Water rushes past him and he feels his heart beat in his ears before regaining his footing.

A small stone plops into the water and his eyes widen as he turns around to finally look behind him. The boys have rocks in their hands now, arms raised to throw them. He dashes across the stone path over a few more rocks, slipping and slamming his knees into one of them. His hands fall into the water and he just barely manages to keep himself on the platform. Jisung scrambles up and hurries the rest of the way to the other side of the river, and doesn't look back as he keeps running up and over the hill.

He doesn't know where he's going, just that he wants to get away.

The boy runs so hard and so far, until his lungs literally can't take it anymore and he doubles over in the grass, a breeze playing with his hair and t-shirt.

When he has some control over his breathing he sits down on the ground to look at his knees. They're badly scraped and bleeding from his fall at the river, and he winces at the sight. Jisung pokes at his right knee and hisses in pain.

Then he flops on his back and stares up at the sky.

A bird flies overhead and he reaches up with one arm at the animal, watching as it flies off in another direction. If only he had wings so he could fly away too. _Flying would be much easier than running_, he thinks.

After a few moments of laying in the grass Jisung eventually sits up. The sun is still high in the sky but he really should be heading home right now. His mother is expecting him for dinner tonight, because Wednesday is always family dinner night no matter what. He just hopes his dad will be home for it too.

Standing now he looks at his surroundings only to realize...he has no idea where he is.

He looks behind him to see if he can find the river, but it's nowhere to be seen. In the distance to his right he thinks he might see some trees. They're so far away. Finally he looks at the hill in front of him, noticing at the very top a little red roof.

With nowhere else to look for now Jisung decides to climb the little hill towards the red roof, and the closer he gets the more red he sees.

The little red roof is only a small part of a much bigger building, which extends into a large wooden structure. It's old - old enough that the paint is chipping in several places and there are a few holes in the wooden planks. Beyond the red building are several other buildings, forming a small town on the top of the hill. There are flags hanging here and there, tiny tents popping up in several different places.

"What is this?" he asks out loud as he steps closer to the red building.

A sign post at the open entrance of the building reads _Purple Dragon Carnival_ in messy hand-painted letters. _A carnival? All the way out here?_

Looking back in the direction in which he came Jisung can see that the sun, although lower in the sky than before, is still high enough to give him some time. He's curious enough that he decides it's just enough for him to take a look around the strange area, and he walks into the entry building.

Once he's out on the other side it feels like he's been transported to a whole other world.

There are more buildings now, taller than they appeared from the outside, and colorful flags strung up between them. They flap a little in the breeze above Jisung's head.

Walking down the path made between the buildings he sees different signs, some advertising food and others showing games. Everything is either faded or cracked just like the red building. This must have been here a long time, but with how big it is Jisung thinks he should have heard about it before. Like in a newspaper or something, although he's never really picked up a newspaper in his life.

In his aimless wandering he comes across a circular area of the carnival with a well in the center, and sunlight streaming in through a gap between the buildings. He walks closer to the well and looks down.

Surprisingly there's water inside. It's far away enough that Jisung can barely see his reflection, and he leans forward some more to try and look deeper.

"Hey."

He hears a voice behind him and jumps in surprise, almost falling forward into the well. He's saved at the last second by a hand clutching the back of his shirt and keeping him upright. Once he's no longer leaning over the edge of the well Jisung jumps away from whoever helped him and turns around.

There's a boy standing there with light purple hair and an amused grin.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he says, putting both hands up in mock surrender as Jisung tries to calm his quick-beating heart. "I just wanted to warn you about falling in."

"I almost fell in _because_ of you." Jisung finally speaks up, and the boy laughs.

"I guess you did, but then I saved you! So...everything should be alright."

Jisung squints at the boy, who's still smiling, and wonders where he came up with such a conclusion. _Why is he even out here in the first place?_

"Oh!" Before he can ask his question the strange boy speaks up again. "It's getting late. You should leave here before the sunsets."

Jisung looks up at the sky and sure enough the sun has definitely changed spots again. _When did it get so far down toward the horizon? He's only been here for a few minutes...right?_ Jisung shakes his head quickly and then nods, stepping away from the well.

"I don't remember which direction I came from though..."

"Don't worry, I'll help you!"

The boy takes him by the hand and starts leading Jisung through the abandoned carnival with a fast pace. The rays of the sun continue to get lower and lower as he's pulled in the direction of the entrance he first came in.

"Here! Just walk back out here and you'll be good to go."

Jisung raises a brow, looking between the boy and the red building. He wonders why he's saying things like that, but again before he can ask the boy is lightly shoving him towards the opening.

"Uh, wait-"

"You have to go."

"I know, just..." He bites his lip. "What's your name?"

The boy visibly brightens and grins, "My name is Chenle! Now shoo. You don't want to be stuck here overnight, do you?"

"What about you?"

"Oh, my house is really close to here. I'll be fine. Now go!"

"Alright, I'm going!" Jisung finally relents, turning and walking into the red building. When he's halfway through he looks behind him to see Chenle still standing there, and waves goodbye. Then he walks the rest of the way and comes out on the other side, back to the hill he'd been standing on before.

Chenle is gone when he turns around again.

"Right, home," he says to himself, carefully climbing down the hill. "I have to get home."

And suddenly it's like Jisung knows the land like the back of his hand, walking through the large fields and grass until he finds the same forest and river from earlier. When he makes his way through the forest he even finds his backpack, completely clean without a scratch, and puts it over his shoulder.

When he's out of the forest and behind the school he looks up at the sky, and for a moment he thinks he sees a dragon with white scales and purple spines flying through the clouds. He rubs his eyes and looks again. Nothing is there.

"Weird."

Jisung shrugs and finally walks home, and when he goes to sleep that night he dreams of toothy grins and dragon fire.


	26. seance / ritual

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: NoRen (Renjun x Jeno)  
Rating: E // Suggestive Content // Warning: Minor Character Death, Blood  
Summary: Lips like licorice, tongue like candy - everything about Lee Jeno is unreal. From his bleach blonde hair to his perfect ass to his straight teeth smile. It makes sense that his one flaw would be worshiping Satan and sacrificing boys in Renjun's living room while he's asleep.
> 
> \+ :^) Yes, this is based off the Netflix original movie The Babysitter. 
> 
> P.S - Normally I don't like changing ages, but for this story to work Jeno has to be older than Renjun so they're a year apart (Renjun is 18, Jeno is 19). kjfhksdhsds

Renjun is too old to have a babysitter, much less a babysitter that was only born a year before him. His parents thought it was necessary after the whole "almost burning the house down" incident when Renjun was conducting a home science experiment. They wanted an extra pair of eyes to make sure he wouldn't do it again.

Hence Jeno.

Lee Jeno was a senior when Renjun was a junior at their local high school. The unattainable bleach blonde popular boy, and no matter how much you wanted to hate him he was just so _nice_ to everyone it was practically impossible. Full lips pursed to blow pink gum bubbles, a musculature that made him the school's track star four years in a row - every pair of pants he owned made his ass look _perfect_. Students and teachers alike either wanted to _be_ him or be _with_ him. Then he graduated and no one ever heard from him again.

Until Renjun almost burned the house down and the very next day Lee Jeno showed up on his doorstep as his shiny new babysitter.

He still doesn't know how they hit it off so well. Before he'd even showed up Renjun had vowed to scare the babysitter off after simply telling his parents _I don't need one_ didn't work out. Then Jeno had to go and be charming and sweet and just- so, so nice. Renjun decided he wouldn't mind having him come back.

Six months now, and instead of feeling like a babysitter Jeno feels more like a friend. A friend who's undeniably attractive and captivating and Renjun may be harboring a crush for, but he'll never say it out loud. Also a friend who still uses his damn babysitter privileges to-

"Oh, come on, I'm not twelve! Put me down!"

Jeno is carrying Renjun over his shoulder right now, holding him with one arm as he walks up the stairs. All the while Renjun is lightly hitting his back and that perfect backside - in anger!

"It's bed time for little Renjunnie," the older boy teases, spinning in a circle in the hallway and gently kicking open Renjun's bedroom door. Without any warning he tosses Renjun on the bed like a sack of potatoes, and when he looks up at Jeno the boy is grinning triumphantly. Renjun glowers at him.

"Don't call me that, and it's only 10:30!"

"Yes, but someone has a science fair tomorrow, and that someone is you."

Renjun crosses his arms and _no_ he does _not_ pout, "It doesn't even start until the afternoon."

"Which is exactly why you should rest up so you can prepare." Jeno smiles then, and even though Renjun is still pretty mad about the sleeping thing, and Jeno really _can't_ tell him what to do, he should get some rest. He smiles.

"Fine."

"Good. Now, does little Renjunnie need to be tucked in so he can-"

Renjun throws a pillow at Jeno's face and both of them laugh.

"I said I'm not twelve you dork, now get out. I need my beauty sleep."

"Alright, alright. I'm leaving," Jeno heads out the door and it's almost closed before he suddenly opens it again, startling Renjun for a moment. "And good luck at the science fair. I know you worked hard on it." Renjun flushes and nods, waiting for Jeno to finally shut the door before flopping back onto his bed.

Having a babysitter at age eighteen sucks.

Having a crush on said babysitter is even worse.

Whether he wanted to or not Renjun did end up falling asleep. He wakes up at some point, a little disoriented, and the clock reads one in the morning. There's a thump and something crashes downstairs, jolting him further awake.

Slipping out from under the covers Renjun quietly opens his bedroom door and walks down the hallway towards the stairs. The logical part of him says it's probably just Jeno and he _probably_ just dropped something, but his more irrational side is screaming about home intruders and thieves. _It wouldn't hurt to check..._

He kneels at the top of the stairs where there's an opening to see into the living room.

First he sees Jeno in all his blonde undercut, white t-shirt, perfect ass jeans glory. Then he notices the other people in the room. A few of them he recognizes, like Jaemin and Donghyuck who were in the same year as Jeno at their high school. There are three others that he doesn't know. Renjun has no idea why the fuck they're at his house. _Did Jeno convince him to sleep just so he could have a party or something?_ That's kinda...mean.

Maybe Renjun's just overthinking things.

His eyes scan the rest of the room and he finds a broken vase next to the fireplace, and just next to that is...a boy tied to a chair.

_What the fuck?_

He slides further down the hallway to see more of the living room, and now he can hear the voices better.

"...gonna give him a show, Jen?"

"You know it."

"How come he gets to do it again? I want some action-"

"Shut up, Hyuck. You'd chicken out at the last minute."

Jeno's familiar laughter floats up the stairway as he approaches the boy in the chair, "Jaemin's right, Hyuck. You always get squeamish about these things." He spreads his legs and sits on the boy's lap, wrapping his arms loosely around his neck, and Renjun's eyes go wide. Seriously, what the fuck? Are they having an orgy in his fucking living room?

"Hey, Lee, how you feeling?"

Jeno rolls his hips, and Renjun realizes the boy named Lee has a cloth gag in his mouth.

"Feels good, right?"

The boy nods his head, and Jeno laughs. Then he moans, and while Renjun may be very, very confused right now the sound also goes straight to his dick. This is really not the time to be a horny virgin! His eyes are still drawn to the way Jeno moves his hips, practically grinding on the boy's thighs, his back arching and head tilting and-

Jeno pulls a hidden knife from his back pocket.

'Oh, knife play,' Renjun's brain helpfully supplies before Jeno suddenly flips the blade in his hand and drives it into the boy's head from under his jaw. 'Not knife play!'

Blood sprays and drips over the boy's chin and throat and Jeno's t-shirt. He can hear Jeno's melodic laugh over the boy's muffled screaming, and the other boys' whoops and cheers. His ears might even be ringing, and as the seconds tick by all he can pay attention to is Jeno.

Renjun is trembling as he watches Jeno leave the knife lodged in the boy's head. He leans forward to lick the blood on his jaw, marking a red trail up the side of his face with the flat of his tongue. The boy whimpers, tears mixing in the red as Jeno quietly shushes him like a frightened animal. There's blood on his hand too, decorating his knuckles as he leans back to let the dying boy watch as he sucks it from his fingers like a cherry popsicle.

"Ew, do you always have to be so gross, Jen?"

Jeno turns around and blows a kiss at Jaemin after the comment, and as he's turning back around he makes eye contact with Renjun at the top of the stairs. The younger freezes at the sight of Jeno, blood-spattered beautifully on the side of his face, lips tinted with the boy's blood like glossy cherry lipstick. So many thoughts are running through his head, and most prominent right now is the fact that Jeno _sees_ him. Jeno knows he knows, but all he does it wink secretively and look away without alerting anyone else in the room.

"Jaemin, Donghyuck, get the goblets." he orders while sliding off the boy's lap, who's now sitting limply in the chair. He's dead. "We need enough blood for the ritual."

Renjun scurries back to his room before he can see anything else happen. He shuts the door and locks it, gasping for air as flashes of Jeno - sweet, kind, hot - covered in blood and grinning like it's a regular Tuesday play in his head. 

He doesn't know how long he sits there, practically hyperventilating in his fucking _space-themed pajamas_ when his phone vibrates loudly on the nightstand and he jumps. Renjun grabs it with shaking hands, sitting with his back pressed to the door and his knees pulled up. He unlocks his phone with trembling fingers to see a text message from Jeno.

[ from: jensitter 2:19am ]  
_hey renjun_

The little bubble with three dots that signals him typing keeps popping up, and Renjun holds his breath.

[ from: jensitter 2:21am ]  
_let's keep this our little secret_

The normalcy of the message throws Renjun off. Jeno even included an emoji making a 'shh' face, an OK sign and a heart. A heart! Who does that after murdering a boy in the middle of someone else's living room?

Renjun glances down at the tent in his pants. He's still turned on.

_What the fuck?_


	27. candy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: JohnJae (Johnny x Jaehyun)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Johnny and Jaehyun have a complicated past that they refuse to acknowledge. Of course their baby brothers are best friends anyways.
> 
> \+ I really love JohnJae likes it's one of my top ships but hhhh-- I had no idea what to write for this day, so sorry if you can tell my heart isn't in the writing. ;;;;;;;; P.S. - Kids!NaHyuck as best friends. Jaemin is Jaehyun's brother, Donghyuck is Johnny's brother.

"Trick or treat!"

"Oh, what a cute little princess."

Donghyuck grins up at Jaehyun with all his teeth - sans the front tooth that wiggled free last week - and holds his pillow case out for candy. The eight year old boy is dressed as Belle from beauty in the beast, quite obvious with his gold dress and hairband, very similar to-

"Hyuck!" Jaehyun's younger brother Jaemin, who's now standing behind him in his pink Aurora dress from Sleeping Beauty. Ah, that's where he must have gotten the idea for being a princess this year.

Jaehyun smiles and makes sure to give Donghyuck a heaping handful of treats, even though his attention is already on Jaemin who's talking excitedly with the other boy. They've been best friends ever since Jaemin first enrolled in the elementary school when they moved back here, and Jaehyun is grateful he has such a nice boy as his friend. Now, if only his sibling was the same.

He glances up and sure enough there's Donghyuck's older brother Johnny standing on the porch.

"Happy Halloween," he says, but the now-forced smile on his face clearly shows he doesn't actually mean it. Johnny just raises a brow before turning his attention to Donghyuck.

"Hey, Hyuck, it's time to go."

"I don't wanna go!"

The little boy stomps his feet and humphs.

"Don't you want more candy?" Johnny asks, exasperated, and Donghyuck shakes his head vehemently.

"I wanna play with Jaemin!"

Behind Jaehyun's leg Jaemin makes an surprised noise, and when he looks down he sees the boy's eyes sparkling. 'Oh no,' his mind supplies before Jaemin is reaching out and taking Donghyuck by the wrist to drag him into the house.

"Let's play, Hyuck! We can have a sleepover!" He hears Jaemin say excitedly, although the last bit is faint as both boys are already sprinting up the stairs to Jaemin's bedroom. That leaves him and Johnny standing on either side of the doorway. Jaehyun sighs and gestures for Johnny to come in. He may not want to, but he's not nearly petty enough to separate him from Donghyuck.

"So," Jaehyun eventually speaks, flicking off the porch light now that he has guests and closing the front door. "Enjoying the holiday?"

"I was." Johnny says from somewhere behind him as he enters the kitchen. He places the candy bowl on the island and rolls his eyes because _seriously, does Johnny always have to be this difficult?_

"Well, you can leave as soon as they tire each other out. Should only be a few hours."

"I just have to stay here then?"

"If you don't want to so badly then you can just go out and come back," Jaehyun grumbles, grabbing himself a soda can from the fridge and walking past Johnny into the living room. He's tired and irritable, the former from an excited Jaemin running around all day, and the latter being caused by Johnny himself - who's now sitting on the other side of the couch, both older boys keeping as much distance as possible from each other.

"Not gonna leave Hyuck here."

"Then stay. I don't care."

Jaehyun turns on the TV so he doesn't have to deal with the awkward silence. In the corner of his eye he can see Johnny with his arms crossed. How can someone so good-looking have such a shit personality? Not that Jaehyun will tell you he thinks John Seo is good looking. Never in a million years would he admit that.

He sips his coke quietly and keeps his attention on the screen for the rest of the evening.

Somewhere along the way he must have dozed off, because when he wakes up his soda can is tipped over on the table and he's laying down. He comes to his senses a little slow, but when he does he realizes his head is on someone's chest.

Jaehyun lifts himself up just a bit and, yeah, that's definitely Johnny's chest if the sleeping face attached to the body is anything to go by.

"What the fuck?"

He hears a loud gasp from behind the couch, and then some childish giggling.

"Jaemin? Donghyuck?" he asks, and the giggling stops. When Jaehyun tries to get up without disturbing Johnny both boys dart out of the living room and back up the stairs, laughing like little hyenas. Jaehyun almost takes off after them, but realizes he can't because his left arm is currently _handcuffed_ to Johnny's right.

He recognizes the handcuffs as the ones from Jaemin's policeman costume for a school play a few months ago. Real honest-to-goodness handcuffs that you could only unlock with the key.

Johnny stirs on the couch and Jaehyun swears again.

As Johnny's eyes open he can hear Jaemin and Donghyuck talking loudly with each other at the top of the staircase.

"Now we can eat all the candy we want!"

"I dunno...won't they be mad when they find us?"

"No, they love each other." In the corner of his eye Jaehyun sees Johnny freeze. "At least, that's what Jaehyun hyung says to me. Oops! That was supposed to be a secret." Jaemin laughs again and both boys run to his bedroom, leaving a furiously blushing Jaehyun with Johnny in the living room. Handcuffed, he might add.

"So..." Johnny says, voice thick with sleep, and Jaehyun won't look at him.

"Shut up."

"Jae-"

"Just, shut up, John. Please."

He's still not looking at the older but he knows he's probably making his trademark expression of furrowed brows and pursed lips. Just like he did when they were kids.

Jaehyun sighs, and then says, "Later. Just, not right now."

"Okay."


	28. urban legend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: None (Donghyuck-Centric?)  
Rating: G  
Summary: A group of friends meets up after school every Friday in Music Room A to tell each other scary stories.
> 
> \+ Again, another day where I had no motivation and didn't know what to write. ;;;; Sorry in advance. P.S. - The teacher Mr. Lee is Taeyong but his name is never stated. w h e ez e

"According to an old school legend the music room is haunted by the ghost of a student who was killed here."

Several gasps are heard around the dark classroom.

"Who killed them?"

One boy with a single flashlight turned up to the ceiling smiles in its harsh beam. It makes him look more like a ghoulish ghost than a regular student. He's the one telling the story, the rest of the boys sitting in a circle, enraptured.

"A teacher." More gasps. "They say the student was a girl. She was going to graduate, had a scholarship to a nice school, her own car. She was also having an affair with the biology teacher."

"Like my older brother did," snickers one of the boys, and the storyteller shushes them.

"Anyways, the student and the teacher would meet up in this classroom to see each other in private. One day the girl said she felt guilty about it, and that she wanted to tell her parents. The teacher got mad. _If anyone finds out I could lose my job. It would ruin my life_, he told her."

"So he killed her?"

"Just let Donghyuck finish the story!"

"Yes, he killed her, but it was an accident. He only meant to yell at her a little, scare her into not telling anyone what they'd been doing. He took her by the arms and shook her, and then he pushed her, and the girl fell and hit her head on the edge of one of these very desks. It could even be the one you're sitting on," he says, turning the flashlight to one of the boys sitting higher than the rest. He immediately gets off the desk and scurries to the floor with everyone else. "The teacher couldn't believe what he had done. The janitor found him the next morning, still in the same spot, and the girl was laying in a pool of her own blood."

"Wait a minute...wouldn't we have heard about this if it happened?"

"Yeah, like in the newspaper."

Donghyuck appears agitated now, throwing his hands in the air, "It's a true story I'm telling you! They say her ghost still roams this room. She can't pass on because of the guilt, and at exactly 2:43AM her ghost appears and shows her last moments."

"What about the teacher? Wouldn't he have gone to jail?"

"Yes, he did, and he died while in prison. They say that even though he died miles away from the school his spirit walks the hallways of the school, looking for the music room."

"That doesn't make any sense," another boy scoffs, and Donghyuck whacks him on the arm with his flashlight. "Ow! Sorry, okay? Jeez."

Donghyuck huffs and crosses his arms. Everyone falls silent, and that's when they hear it - footsteps.

They're coming from outside in the hallway, getting closer to the classroom with each passing second. Some of the students latch onto each other while others shrink behind desks, and the footsteps stop right in front of the door.

"It's the biology teacher!" one of them whisper yells.

"He's going to kill us like the girl, oh no."

The door opens and then...

The lights flicker on, a voice, "What are you boys doing here so late?"

Everyone scrambles up as Mr. Lee, the music teacher, stands in the doorway. He has his hands on his hips and an unamused expression on his face. Clearly he isn't happy with having found them all.

"Sorry sir!" That's Jeno, ever the teacher's pet.

"We were just telling scary stories!" Mark, teacher's pet number two.

Donghyuck scoffs, but just like the other boys he ducks his head under Mr. Lee's glare. It doesn't last long as he sighs in exasperation before gesturing for the boys to step out of the classroom. They all walk out in a single line, heads low as they pass by the teacher.

"The school is closed, boys. You're not supposed to be here after hours. Do your parents know you're here?"

They scuff their shoes against the floor and he sighs, closing the door to the music room.

"Alright then, let me give your families a call so they can come pick you up."

"But Mr. Lee."

"No buts, especially you Donghyuck." The boy crosses his arms and pouts, but still follows the teacher with the rest of the group. "I'm sure you all can have just as much fun telling scary stories at home. Now, who wants me to call their parents first?"

As they all head towards the front office no one, not even Donghyuck or Mr. Lee, notices the see-through figure at the other end of the hall.


	29. familiar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: None (Jeno-Centric)  
Rating: G  
Summary: Jeno is a witch living in a cute little cottage in the woods. That's it. That's the story.
> 
> \+ Another recycled speedwrite (the first one I ever wrote!) because this last week as sucked my writing muse dry. ;;;;;

The storm outside is far too loud to be natural. Jeno is sitting in front of his big black cauldron, hoping a strong wind doesn’t sweep down his chimney and blow out the fire. To lose a batch of sleeping tonic this large would be a tragedy.

“Just another hour or so, Bongshik.” he sighs, looking over to the sleeping kitten on his preparation table. The cat’s tail is curled around her as she basks in the warmth of the open flame. Like any other fire it’s a bright, flickering orange from underneath the pot. However, _unlike_ natural fire, if one were to look close enough they would realize it stayed the exact perfect temperature the whole time, and not once did it jump far out enough to lick at the witch’s toes.

Jeno continues to stir the pot with a large wooden ladle, jumping as a loud clap of thunder sounds outside. Following it is the brightest lightning he’s ever seen - and that was just in his periphery as he monitors the contents of his brew for any unwanted colors.

_Must be a new moon_, he ponders to himself, _that’s the one for demons, right? Or is it the one for darkness in general? It must be one of those two with how strong it is tonight. Hopefully no one gets hurt_. Just as the thought crosses his mind a particularly wild gust blows open the right side window of his little cottage.

Bongshik yowls at the rude awakening, claws digging into the table before the familiar jumps and scurries to Jeno’s room for safety beneath his bed. Jeno himself grunts as the fire is blown out and he’s pelted with raindrops, darkening the fabric of his button down and soaking his pants. He abandons his cauldron to march over to the windows, trying to reach for both of them and shut the house from the outside world. The witch struggles, almost as if the wind is purposely working against him.

Lightning strikes again, and for a moment Jeno sees an electric face just outside the window frame. A demon.

With all his strength he finally gets both window panes to slide back together, flicking down the latch and spelling it stronger. Potion items and tools litter the floor, his curtains lopsided against the wall before he pulls them down to cover the glass panes, trying to get the image of the smiling face out of his head.

“Bongshik-ah, it’s alright,” he calls softly, starting to clean up and spelling the fire down as well. Looks like he’ll just have to try again tomorrow. For now it’d be good to get some sleep himself.

The familiar pokes its head out of the doorway before waltzing back into the main room like nothing even happened, and Jeno smiles. She waves between his legs as he makes his way to the bedroom. When he almost trips he reaches down to pick up the cat and place her on the bed as he changes into a pair of comfortable pajamas. Then he's slipping under the covers, and a few seconds later Bongshik curls up next to his feet.

"Good night, Bongshik," he whispers, a spell on his breath to turn out the light. The cat purrs and any thoughts of ruined potions and storm demons are whisked away from Jeno's mind into the night.


	30. party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: NoMin (Jeno x Jaemin)  
Rating: T // Explicit Language  
Summary: Jaemin is dragged to a party he doesn't want to be at a week after a nasty breakup. Of course, it's just his luck that he sees his ex at said party, but luckily for him he meets a modern knight in shining armor. Make that two?
> 
> \+ I've been c r a v i n g a Jeno twin AU and resorted to making my own, and because I'm horrible at picking out names, Jeno's twin is named Jaiden.

So, here's Jaemin at the biggest party of the year, stranded on the steps by his friends who've gone somewhere with other friends who are much more willing to have a good time than he is. Jaemin doesn't blame them. He's a lousy excuse of a party person tonight, the beer in his cup tasting like piss and his makeup smudged beyond repair. He's too put out to even entertain himself with his phone in his back pocket.

All because of his stupid ex boyfriend.

Of course he was going to be here tonight. Out of all the _Yay, We Survived Midterms Now Let's Get Fucking Shitfaced_ parties he was at this specific one, and the moment Jaemin saw him it was like the rug had been pulled out from under him. He went from "ready to party" to "please take me home" at the drop of a dime, but Jaemin's license is suspended and he's not going to ask for Donghyuck's boyfriend to take him back to the dorms.

So here he is on the steps. Brooding, waiting for the night to end, not wanting to see that stupid fucker's face and if he does one more time so help him God he's going to scream-

"Hey, you alright?"

He looks up and there's a literal God standing in front of him. Jaemin must have said that bit out loud because the guy laughs, and when he smiles Jaemin feels his insides turn to jelly.

The stranger is dressed like anyone else in a sleek leather jacket and dark jeans, liner black as sin around his eyes to match his practically obsidian hair. It's typical attire and Jaemin still thinks he looks so much more - more than anyone else at this party, even if he is a God with a red solo cup in one hand.

"Not God, but close enough," he teases, and Jaemin wishes he was flushing only because of the alcohol.

Literal Adonis sits next to him on the stairs.

"You never answered my question," he says, eyes sliding over to Jaemin as he drinks from his cup. Jaemin does his best to tear his eyes away from the stranger's Adam's apple, but direct eye contact would probably make him burn up on the spot. He huffs and looks out at the living room like he was before.

"Could be better," He settles with that because it's not like Jaemin wants to tell a complete stranger his whole messed up story. A very pretty, very hot, unreal stranger.

They guy shrugs, "Fair," holds out his hand, "I'm Jaiden," and gives Jaemin another megawatt smile. He takes his hand and shakes it thrice before letting go, trying not to think too hard about how warm it felt.

"Jaemin," he says before sipping down the rest of the contents of his cup. "And I'm all out of beer."

"Well, Jaemin I'm All Out Of Beer, how about we go get you another one?" Jaiden stands then and offers to help Jaemin up from the step, and he pats himself on the back for only wobbling a little. Really, he's just a little tipsy, but when he's not drinking to be a party animal and instead drinking his sorrows away the blackout takes twice as long.

They head to the kitchen where the drinks are, Jaiden leading him through the crowded halls until it's less densely packed.

A colorful array of cups and bottles decorate the island in the center of the kitchen. There are a few people milling about, mostly the ones that don't like to dance and would rather talk against the wall. Jaemin's usually a dancer, but today he can kind of understand why they prefer the pseudo-quiet.

"You want another beer, or something stronger?" Jaiden asks, fingertips sliding against the counter top as he peruses the selection.

Jaemin shrugs, "Surprise me I guess."

While he waits for the other Jaemin decides to dump his empty cup into the already overflowing trashcan near the other entrance to the kitchen. As soon as his eyes are directed towards the living room he sees _him_. Shit, now he's walking over in his direction.

"_Shit_," he looks around the room, eyes catching on Jaiden and then the third entrance to the kitchen, the one that leads onto the wrap around patio. Before he can exit someone grabs him by the wrist and his heart leaps in his throat, but when he turns around it's just Jaiden.

"What's wrong?"

Jaemin looks over his shoulder, "No time to explain. My ex, ugh, he's coming this way and I just really don't want to see him. Please, let me go?"

Jaiden does as he asks, looking a bit sheepish before sobering into a more serious expression.

"I can distract him for you if you wanna head out there?" He gestures to the door leading onto the porch and Jaemin wonders how he was so lucky to meet someone so nice. At least, Jaiden seems like a really nice guy, but Jaemin has only known him for a whopping total of five minutes so he can't say for sure. Just that Jaiden is a lot better than probably 60% of the people here.

"Thank you so much," he says, and Jaemin really means it before slipping out the door just in time.

Standing outside with his back to the wall he leans to the side to glance into the kitchen. His ex is looking over the drink table before his head lifts up and, sure enough, it's Jaiden who's struck a conversation with him. Jaemin bites at the nail of his thumb before looking away and stalking towards the front end of the porch. He thanks Jaiden again just under his breath, and part of him kind of wishes they'd met under better circumstances.

At the front end of the house now Jaemin sees the party in full swing through the living room window. He honestly doesn't want to go back inside. The bass of the music is less prominent out here, and it's quiet enough that he can actually think.

He pulls his jacket around him tighter and stops in front of the porch swing, watching the street.

A lamp flickers off-white in front of the house across the road, casting an unearthly glow over the parked cars and picket-white fences. In his peripheral vision Jaemin can see the yard scattered with cups and tables, food, trash.

He snorts, _what a perfect metaphor for his state of mind_.

He really should text his friends that he wants to leave. Maybe he should just say fuck it and walk the whole way home, let them feel guilty in the morning when they're puking in the toilet. Jaemin isn't normally so...mean with his thoughts, but there are a lot of things that have him feeling messed up lately.

"Hey, you alright?"

"Fine," he snaps, and when he looks over it's like deja vu.

It's Jaiden but in...a completely different outfit? The leather jacket and dark jeans are gone, replaced with the tightest faux leather pants Jaemin has ever seen and a searing neon green sweatshirt. He even has earrings on, pretty ones that dangle off his left ear and sparkle in the streetlamp. Through the haze of alcohol Jaemin's brain just accepts this as fact and moves on.

"Sorry," he sighs then. "Still kinda reeling from seeing him."

"Your ex?"

"Yeah." Jaemin lowers himself heavily onto the porch swing, and it creaks underneath him. Jaiden sits next to him, so close their shoulders are almost touching.

"You wanna talk about him?"

"Not particularly."

"Yeah, that makes sense. I just thought I'd offer since talking usually helps me." He grins at Jaemin then, softly, and it's a warm expression. Much warmer than he appeared in the house.

"I think what I need right now is a distraction."

"What kind of distraction?"

"I don't know. Anything?"

Jaemin is looking directly at him and Jaiden stares back. For a second it feels like everything else melts away - thoughts about his stupid ex boyfriend, this dumb party, how he's half drunk and will probably feel even more shit in the morning. Jaemin thinks a good distraction from everything would be to kiss him, and his eyes dart down to the other boy's lips without him registering the action.

He moves a fraction of an inch forward, eyelids drooping when a voice interrupts.

"Jeno."

When Jaiden's perks up immediately and turns around Jaemin freezes. He jerks up a little, coming back to his senses while staring at the bottom of the swing. He sees a pair of dark boots next and looks up.

"I thought I told you to watch him, not make out with him."

"We weren't do anything."

"We weren't doing anything my ass."

Jaemin's eyes widen as he glances back and forth between the two Jaidens. Wait, no, that can't be right. Seeing their different attire now he knows the one standing is Jaiden, because he's wearing the same clothes from earlier, and the other boy looking at him now with a sheepish expression is...Jeno? Is that what he heard?

Neon green sweatshirt opens his mouth to speak but Jaemin beats him to it.

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on...there are two of you?" They both nod at the same time and normally Jaemin would find it creepy if they weren't so freaking attractive. "Just, give me a second to process. I'm not drunk enough for this."

Jeno laughs and Jaiden flicks him on the back of his head, and Jaemin is lost in his own world as they bicker.

He feels a hand on his shoulder a few moments later and looks up to face Jaiden. He's close enough for Jaemin to see the mole under his eye. Huh, now that he thinks about it Jeno has one too, under his other eye. Must be a twin thing.

"Promise we aren't going to kill you," Jaiden says, and Jeno laughs again, both boys smiling.

"Leading with that doesn't really help your cause." Jaemin retaliates.

Jaiden rolls his eyes but his smile is warm, not as bright as Jeno's but with the same curve to his lips and same good intentions.

"Do you want to head out? We were gonna go to McDonald's for some late night dinner."

"Technically very early breakfast." Jeno interjects.

"It just looks like you don't really want to be here, so we wanted to invite you. You don't have to see him again either."

Jaemin weighs his options. He could stay at a party he doesn't really want to be at while waiting for his friends, and possibly see his ex again without a chance to escape. Or, he could go to McDonald's at two in the morning with a pair of the most beautiful boys he's ever seen, albeit strangers with questionable motives (not really, Jaemin's just paranoid). His choice, in the end, is obvious.

"As long as you're paying. I didn't bring my wallet with me."


	31. trick or treat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: NoHyuck (Jeno x Donghyuck)  
Rating: E // Sexual Content  
Summary: Even when they're in the most compromising positions Jeno finds the time to make horrible jokes.
> 
> \+ Turn away now, and if you go ahead and read this then please forgive me for ever publishing it. cr y Pt. 2
> 
> P.S. - Decided to end this with a bang! I'm not good at writing smut. This is purely self-indulgent. dkfhdskj Notes at the end as well!

"Trick or treat. Give me something good to eat."

Jeno licks his lips and pulls Donghyuck's underwear down at the same time, watching the other boy's cock spring free. It's hard against his soft stomach, beads of pre-cum oozing at the tip. He wants his mouth on it. Now.

"Never say that again," Donghyuck complains, a little breathless from earlier when they'd been kissing. Once the front door had been locked Jeno had pounced on him before Donghyuck could even take off his coat, which was probably somewhere on the staircase from when Jeno had pulled it off him along with his flannel. They'd been handing out candy to trick-or-treaters as a vampire and werewolf duo, and the younger boy didn't miss the glances Jeno had kept sending his way in between visitors.

Jeno had other things on his mind than candy and costumes.

Enough thoughts about that though.

_Cock, mouth, now_, his brain helpfully supplies as he adjusts himself on the mattress, hands on Donghyuck's thighs as he levels his face with his dick.

"It's Halloween, Hyuckie. Have a little fun." Jeno teases, hot breath fanning across Donghyuck's skin, making him twitch.

"You couldn't wait until actual trick-or-treating was over?" he asks, voice cracking as Jeno flattens his tongue and licks from base to tip. Donghyuck throws one arm over his eyes as Jeno's lips close around the tip, suckling at it like a lollipop.

"Turned off the porch light," he mumbles into the side of his dick, teeth grazing a vein as he licks again. Before Donghyuck can think of another response Jeno's hand is wrapping around him too. His thumb presses into Donghyuck's slit and he keens, free hand clutching at the sheets as his back arches ever so slightly off the bed.

After that Jeno's mouth returns to the tip of Donghyuck's dick. He kitten licks at the tip, watching as Donghyuck squirms. He can taste the slight salt of his pre-cum and it spurs to Jeno to make Donghyuck come down his throat by the end of the night, so it tastes like him for a week every time he swallows.

"Ew, why are you so gross?"

Jeno must have said his thoughts out loud and laughs.

"Hey, look at me," he says. When Donghyuck lifts his head he sees Jeno laying between his legs. The thumb and index finger of his left hand are wrapped loosely around the bottom of his cock, which he's pressing his cheek against with an innocent smile. His eyes are dark and playful, a hint of glitter vampire makeup sparkling around them, and Donghyuck's mouth goes dry. "Less talking, more blowing."

Again, Donghyuck plans on saying something back about Jeno's atrocious choice of words, but the air to say anything leaves his lungs as he watches Jeno take half of him in his mouth without warning. Donghyuck whimpers and drops his head back onto the pillows.

"God, you're gonna be the death of me, Jen."

Jeno hums and the vibrations go straight through Donghyuck's dick. He groans and brings one hand down, threading his fingers through Jeno's hair as the older boy starts to bob his head. The slide of his mouth is hot and wet. _God_, the sounds filling up the room, Jeno slurping and licking lewdly, like he's trying to suck Donghyuck's soul out through his dick.

It takes all of Donghyuck's willpower not to thrust his hips up and into Jeno's mouth.

The heat coiling in his gut is warm and only getting hotter. The muscles in his stomach contract when he feels the tip of his cock hit the back of Jeno's throat.

"Holy shit, Jeno."

Just like that the soft wet heat of Jeno's mouth is gone as he pulls off with a slick pop, and Donghyuck whimpers at the loss. He looks up to see Jeno's lips parted, tinted red with spit dribbling from the corner of his mouth. The minimal dark liner around his eyes only further adds to the picture, and maybe Donghyuck could cum just from this vision of Jeno. If only that were possible.

Jeno leans down to lick at the side of his cock and says, "You can fuck my my mouth."

Donghyuck thinks he actually can't breathe for a second.

"You'll kill me tomorrow for it."

"No, I won't."

"Yes, you will. You'll go to eat your candy, uh," he stutters when Jeno sucks on the head again, tongue dipping into his slit. "And you'll complain about a sore throat, and-"

"And I want you to fuck my mouth, Donghyuck. Are you really trying to to say no?"

Jeno is right. Donghyuck doesn't really want to say no. In fact, the thought of thrusting into Jeno's mouth with abandon is kind of the hottest thing he can imagine at the moment. The thought of Jeno with spit on his chin and maybe a few tears dripping down his cheeks, dragging lines through his makeup.

"Fuck, no, I mean yes. I want to, Jeno-"

"Then do it."

Jeno's lips close around him again and he loops his arms underneath Donghyuck's thighs, no longer placing his hands over his hips to hold them down. It's kind of an awkward position for Donghyuck and yeah, it's going to be a struggle to keep lifting his hips up, but when he feels Jeno's nose against his pelvis from fitting him all in his mouth he thinks it'll all be worth it in the end.

He experimentally bucks his hips forward and Jeno makes a wet sound, almost like a gag, breathing heavily through his nostrils. He keeps his jaw slack for Donghyuck as he drags his cock out and back into the wet suction of Jeno's mouth, and a few seconds later he's doing it repeatedly. Donghyuck has both hands in Jeno's hair now, holding his head in place as he fucks his mouth.

"Fuck, Jeno, you feel so good," he whines, the pace of his movements stuttering as he gets closer to his release. "Gonna cum soon, oh- Inside?"

Jeno hums an affirmation, and not a second later Donghyuck's orgasm washes over him like a tidal wave. His limbs lock up for a few moments, cock buried in Jeno's throat as he cums, and the stimulation of Jeno swallowing around him has the boy whimpering. Then he's collapsing back onto to the bed, panting as Jeno pulls off, Donghyuck's now soft dick laying on his stomach.

Jeno licks his lips, catching the beads of white that he couldn't swallow. He grins and pulls Donghyuck's boxers up, tucking him back inside before flopping down next to him.

"You look like you just ran a marathon," he chuckles, and Donghyuck looks over at him. Then down to the tent in his boxers.

"You want me to-?"

"Nah, I'm good." Jeno swings his leg over Donghyuck, cuddling up close to him even though he's sticky with sweat. He can feel Jeno's hard on against his thigh as the older grossly wipes his face off on one of the pillows before tossing it off the bed and replacing it with another one.

"You sure?"

"Mm-hm. Just wanna sleep now."

"Oh, now he wants to sleep."

Jeno pinches Donghyuck on the stomach and the boy yelps, almost elbowing him in the face. Other than that he's too boneless to disagree, and a nap really does sound good. Hopefully it'll leave him well-rested enough to deal with Jeno's whiny ass tomorrow.

"Good night, Hyuck."

"Night, Jeno."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, looks like we've reached the end of this collection! First of all I'd like to say thank you to everyone who left kudos and nice comments. It really spurred me to keep writing until the very end. Fun fact, this is the most I've written in such a short amount of time in, well, ever! Even if I look back on these and pick out everything wrong with them, I'm proud for having stuck with the challenge. 
> 
> Secondly, I'm sure I'll turn a few of these into longer fics in the future, so if there's any you'd look forward to, please let me know! I can't make any promises because I have the muse of a mayfly (it dies unexpectedly,,,, a lot), but I really want to keep challenging myself to write more.
> 
> Other than that, I really hope you all enjoyed 00FFTOBER as much as I did! Feel free to scream at me on Twitter ([@aeclandia](https://twitter.com/aeclandia)) or send me stuff in my [CC](https://curiouscat.me/lovekies) (I take drabble requests and such when I'm bored and need something to write). With that, Happy Halloween! ♡
> 
> \- Jewel / eab5c5


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